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Kaduna Govt Gifts Mobile Phone, N100,000 Each To 39 #EndBadGovernance Protesters Detained For Three Months
The Kaduna State Government under the leadership of Sani Uba has gifted mobile phones and a sum of N100,000 to each of the newly released #EndBadGovernance protesters in the state.
The protesters including minors were granted freedom on Tuesday after a Federal High Court in Abuja struck out treasonous charges brought against them by the Nigerian Government.
This followed an application by the Attorney General of the Federation’s office to withdraw the charges after the arraignment of minors generated public outrage and national and international embarrassment.
The protesters were detained for three months following their alleged participation in the nationwide protests.
Their freedom was pronounced by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, the presiding judge, who struck out the case after he granted the application by M.D Abubakar, counsel for the AGF, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
Addressing newsmen after securing their freedom on Tuesday morning, one of their lawyers, Marshal Abubakar, said their clients were granted bail after the Attorney General of the Federation exercised his constitutional right to discontinue the treasonous case initiated by Nigerian Police.
The lawyer added that the government was statutorily bound to rehabilitate and ensure all the detained minors enjoy free education up to university education.
The malnourished minors who spent about 90 days in prison were later handed over to officials of the governments of Kaduna and Kano states.
Pictures seen by the media show that the Kaduna the released detainees smartphones and money.
Also, in a statement issued on Wednesday, the Special Adviser to the Kaduna State Governor on New Media, Abdullahi Yunus confirmed the payment of N100,000 each to all the protesters.
The governor’s aide quoted the Secretary to Kaduna State Government, Dr Abdulkadir Muazu, as saying: “The governor promised that some of them will be given start-up capitals to commence trading, others will be taught skills and some will be given employment.
“Both Islamic and Christian religious leaders preached to them to embrace the teachings of their faiths and to avoid bad company, to benefit from God’s blessings here and in the hereafter,” the SSG was quoted as saying.
Yunus added that according to the SSG, the detainees were given a telephone each because they lost their own during detention and “the Governor has graciously given each of them N100,000 as a measure of goodwill”.
The statement added that the detainees have been returned to their various homes.
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FG panel blames poor maintenance for grid collapses
The Federal Government has revealed that a poor maintenance culture and inadequate and aged equipment, among other challenges, are the underlying reasons for the incessant multiple collapses of the national power grid witnessed in recent months.
It also stated that the high voltage of electricity surpassing the capacity of its equipment caused the blackout witnessed on October 14 and 19, 2024.
The Chairman of the investigative committee probing reasons for grid collapse, Nafisatu Asabe Ali, revealed this during the report presentation at ministry headquarters on Wednesday in Abuja.
This came barely 24 hours after the latest collapse that occurred on Tuesday, making it the 10th time the national grid would collapse in 2024 alone.
According to her, the investigative team observed similar challenges and problems affecting all stations during its probe.
She said the investigative team examined the grid collapse incident that occurred on October 14 and 19 and found out that the shattering of lightning arrestors in Jebba and Oshogbo transmission stations and the explosion of a CT also in Jebba Station were reasons for both incidents.
According to her, “For the event on the 14th, lightning arrestors in Jebba and Oshogbo shattered. The one in Jebba was for the shunt reactor and this was caused by high voltage. Subsequently, we had the tripping of multiple 330kV lines. It kept going until it became major.
“The remote cause of that is the unavailability of the second reactor in Jebba, and that is because Jebba, by the design of the network and sometimes the topology of the network at a particular time is very prone to high voltage.”
We had two shunt reactors in Jebba before this event, however, one packed up. It is faulty, and so the voltage rose to about 400KV, which is beyond the threshold. High voltage degrades equipment insulation.
“If you expose equipment to high voltages for a long time, it degrades the insulation. And, of course, there’s a risk of failure. So, that was a remote cause for that. But the underlying causes are aged equipment. In our findings, we confirmed that Jebba was commissioned in 1968. Some of the equipment was commissioned alongside the substation. So, aged equipment. And maintenance culture is also an issue.”
The committee listed several factors affecting the management including vandalism of power infrastructures, lack of free governors at power generation plants, uncoordinated maintenance schedules, and lack of adequate human capacity.
Responding to this, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said the ministry would push for additional funding from the 2024 Supplementary Budget and the 2025 Appropriation Bill to resolve the financial implications of strategies needed to curb the incessant grid collapse.
He expressed optimism that the frequent collapses of the Nigerian power grid system could be curbed with the implementation of far-reaching reforms, stating that “this incessant grid collapse, which is quite unfortunate and is worrisome to me personally as the Honorable Minister of Power overseeing this sector.”
Adelabu added that he would present an amended report to aid his submission to Tinubu owing to the financial implications.
He said, “Today’s meeting is to receive a report on the agency committee set up about two and a half weeks ago, to reveal the root cause of the incessant grid disturbances that we have experienced in the past few months. This is not good for us as a country. It is not good for us as a power sector. It is not good for us as a ministry of power and other agencies.”
The committee also listed recommendations for the audit and tests of existing equipment and improvement in maintenance of the transmission equipment and lines, installation of harmonics filters by Disco and Genco customers, decentralisation of TCN central store, enforcement of Free Governor Mode of Operation and removal of ad-lash taped optic fibre for Optical Ground Wires.
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Simon Ekpa writes Finland President over Biafra Declaration
The Simon Ekpa-led Biafra Republic Government In-Exile has written to Finland President, Alexander Stubb over the group’s announced Biafra declaration convention.
Ekpa, in a statement on Wednesday through X, noted that the letter of intent was presented on Monday to Finland’s President, Alexander Stubb.
According to Ekpa, the letter detailed justifications on why the Biafra declaration is a recipe for peace in Nigeria and the Sahel region of Africa.
“The letter of intent informed the Finland President to support the Biafra Independence Declaration because it is a recipe for peace in the Sahel Region,” Ekpa wrote on his official X account.
“The Government of Biafra is contacting you to inform you about the overall aims and goals of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile and its international legal personality, and the pending restoration of the United States of Biafra under the auspices of an internationally recognised referendum to be concluded the last week of November 2024.
“Unlike other secessionist governments in Africa before and since, Biafra was recognised by five United Nations member states,” the letter reads in part.
This comes amid the increased agitation for Biafra independence in the past years.
Ekpa had announced that from November 29 to 3rd, 2024, Biafra independence will be declared in a convention in Finland.
Recall that Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, has been under detention since 2021 over Biafra agitation.
Efforts and appeals from several Igbo leaders for his freedom have not yielded fruit.
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