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A Chief Magistrate Court in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, has ordered the remand of 30 protesting women at the Correctional Centre over allegations of violence and destruction of public facilities.
Protests erupted in the state capital in response to the Supreme Court’s recent judgement upholding the election of Governor Abdullahi Sule.
The Nigeria Police arrested and arraigned the women on Friday afternoon, accusing them of engaging in acts of violence, blocking roads, and destroying public property.
The protesters reportedly caused heavy traffic as roads were blocked, and some of them set tyres ablaze.
The court also remanded eight other male suspects at the correctional centre.
The male suspects face charges related to blocking roads, public disturbance, and destruction of public facilities.
The identities of those in custody are yet to be disclosed.
The court has adjourned the matter for a hearing on their bail applications scheduled for Monday, January 21.
DAILY POST had reported that the Nasarawa State Commissioner of Police, Umar Shehu Nadada, had threatened to take decisive action against anyone engaged in violence before, during and after the Supreme Court judgement.
The warning was issued at a peace pact ceremony organised for leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
A former Minister of Power and Steel, Olu Agunloye, has been released from the Kuje Correctional Centre after meeting his bail condition, Saturday PUNCH gathered.
Our correspondent learnt that Agunloye was released on Friday evening.
The spokesperson Federal Capital Territory Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service, Adamu Duza, disclosed this to our correspondent.
Duza said, “Agunloye has been released from prison after meeting his bail condition. He was released this evening around 5.30pm.”
A Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the remand of Agunloye in Kuje custodial centre over a $6bn Mambilla hydropower contract.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arraigned Agunloye before the Federal High Court in Abuja where he pleaded not guilty to the charges read against him.
The judge, however, ordered that the embattled former minister be remanded in Kuje custodial centre pending when bail would be granted.
Recall that the EFCC declared Agunloye wanted in connection with a $6bn power scheme involving the Mambilla hydropower project.
Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori said on Friday that he survived 38 cases in various courts from pre-election to post-election up to the Supreme Court to become Governor of Delta State.
Speaking at a thanksgiving service at the Government House Chapel in Asaba, the governor called on his opponents to partner with him to move Delta State forward.
“This victory is for our people to know that our God is faithful and He alone has delivered us.
This victory is for everyone and like I promised Deltans, I will be the governor for all Deltans,” he said.
Oborevwori stressed that God ordained him to be governor and thanked Deltans for supporting his ambition.
“I came to this altar before I went to Abuja for this last judgment and I said God is not a man that he should lie. I have promised God that every time He gives me victory, I must come here to thank Him.
“I have done it several times and I said I would also return the same day of the victory to thank God. For the Lord has redeemed me.
“This victory is not about me but about the people of Delta State. The immediate past governor said that somebody who would not recognise this altar will never be governor; God has honoured that word,” he said.
Oberevwori added: “This case made it 38 cases for me from pre-election matters to this one. Even the governors who have done eight years did not go through such a number of cases.”
The governor, who was earlier welcomed from Abuja by a mammoth crowd at the Asaba International Airport, said he was happy that the litigation was over, assuring that he would now concentrate on delivering on his MORE Agenda for the people.
Reacting to the judgement, the immediate past governor of Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, on his verified Facebook account, wrote: “This judgement truly underscores the trust and confidence that the people of our state, the Big Heart of our nation, have placed in the leadership of Governor Oborevwori’s administration and our great party.”
Also, former governor of the state, Emmanuel Uduaghan, said: “ These cases have been quite trying, but for those that have passed through this route, propaganda was a big issue.
“We thank God for the overall result; it is now time to settle down fully and deliver the dividends of democracy.”
[PRESS RELEASE] Dangote Petroleum Refinery registers MOMAN, IPMAN and DAPPMAN members for Products distribution
AdminManagement of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has commenced registration of distributors for the lifting and distribution of refined petroleum products across the country.
So far, members of three prominent associations, that constitute 75 per cent of the total market in Nigeria have been registered. The associations are the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, (IPMAN), and Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, (MOMAN).
The company is also considering other marketers that have signified interest in the lifting and distribution of its petroleum products in the country.
Executive Secretary, Depot, and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), Olufemi Adewole said that the association commenced discussions with Dangote Petroleum Refinery regarding the lifting and distribution of refined petroleum products last year during a meeting between DAPPMAN Chairman Dame Winifred Akpani, the 2nd Vice Chairman, Alhaji Mahmud Tukur and the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.
According to him, the meeting was to explore collaboration between the refinery and DAPPMAN members whose nationwide presence will be critical in distributing products from the refinery to the consumers.
He said the refining of petroleum products from Dangote Refinery would accelerate Nigeria’s economic development and provide DAPPMAN members with seamless access to refined petroleum products.
Speaking in the same vein, National Vice President of IPMAN, Alhaji Hammed Adekunle Fasola, said the association had declared its intention to lift and distribute petroleum products from Dangote Refinery.
He said: “We have already established a business relationship with Dangote Refinery. We believe that the relationship is going to be a win-win one. Our association owns 80 per cent of the retail outlets in the country and we have all it takes to ensure smooth distribution of petroleum products from Dangote Refinery across the country.”
Also, the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, MOMAN, Clement Isong said MOMAN members have registered with Dangote Petroleum Refinery to become marketers of its products.
“I confirm that my members have registered with them. We were waiting for the production to start and now it has started, and they will start discussing the commercial terms. So yes, major marketers and other players will buy for the market. The important thing was the registration.
“So now the commercial terms will be agreed with each marketer and then they will buy from them. There are several ways you can buy from them. They have loading ranks, over 90, so you can take your truck to go and pick. You can also use vessels to pick. Those are the two ways you pick products.”
Designed for 100% Nigerian Crude with the flexibility to process other crudes, the Refinery can load 2,900 trucks a day at its truck-loading gantries. The products from the Refinery will conform to Euro V specifications. The refinery design complies with the World Bank, US EPA, European emission norms, and Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) emission/effluent norms, employing state-of-the-art technology.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery can meet 100% of Nigeria’s requirement for all refined products (Gasoline, 45 million litres per day; Diesel, 14 million litres per day; Kerosene, 10 million litres per day and Aviation Jet, 2 million litres per day) and have surplus for export.
Reacting to the spate of reports claiming to be appointed distributors of Dangote Petroleum products, the Management of Dangote Industries Limited noted that the registration of distributors has commenced. It, however, added that the process of appointment is ongoing. "All news regarding the Dangote Refinery should not be taken as a matter of fact if not officially communicated by the company", the management stated.
At this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, global leaders are asking whether to put guardrails in place for AI itself, or look to regulate its effects once the tech is developed.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is top of mind for many workers who are hopeful about its possibilities, but wary of its future implications.
Earlier this month, researchers for the International Monetary Fund found that AI may affect the work of four in 10 employees worldwide. That number jumps to six in 10 in advanced economies, in industries as diverse as telemarketing and law. Additionally, a just-released report by the World Economic Forum showed half of the economists surveyed believed AI would become "commercially disruptive" in 2024 – up from 42% in 2023.
Business leaders at 2024's World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos are also prioritising conversations about artificial intelligence. Particularly, they're focused on how to regulate AI tech to make sure it's a force for good in both business and the world at large.
"This is the most powerful technology of our times," Arati Prabhakar, director of the US White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said at a Davos panel on 17 January. "We see the power of AI as something that must be managed. The risks have to be managed."
The conversation around how, exactly, governance can help manage that risk comes at a crucial inflection point. Alongside AI's emerging benefits has been a more complicated and darker reality: artificial intelligence can have unintended consequences and even nefarious uses. Take, for example, the software that automatically (and unlawfully) turned down job applicants over a certain age, or the AI-powered chatbot that spouted sexist and racist tweets.
Governments in regions including the EU and US have been discussing AI regulations for years – yet there are still almost as many questions as answers. One of the stickiest is around how to regulate AI, exactly – and to what extent it even can be regulated.
One approach on the table at Davos is regulating the way artificial intelligence works from the start.
This could mean putting in place policies that evaluate and audit algorithms. The core idea is to ensure the algorithms themselves aren't misusing data in ways that could lead to unlawful outcomes. In the US, for example, federal agencies have proposed that quality-control assessments be established for algorithms that evaluate a property's collateral value in mortgage applications.
Some experts in the industry, however, are concerned that restrictive regulation of the technology at its origin could stifle innovation and development.
As Andrew Ng, founder of the AI education company Deeplearning.AI and an adjunct computer science professor at Stanford University, put it in a recent interview with the World Economic Forum, "Regulations that impose burdensome requirements on open-source software or on AI technology development can hamper innovation, have anti-competitive effects that favour big tech, and slow our ability to bring benefits to everyone."
Other leaders think it may be impractical to even attempt to directly govern artificial intelligence technology in the first place. Instead, they argue the regulation should take aim at the effects of AI once it's developed.
"Artificial intelligence by the name is not something that you can actually govern," Khalfan Belhoul, chief executive officer of the Dubai Future Foundation, told the World Economic Forum on a recent episode of Radio Davos. "You can govern the sub-effects or the sectors that artificial intelligence can affect. And if you take them on a case-by-case basis, this is the best way to actually create some kind of a policy."
In some ways, this approach is already in action.
"There are a wide variety of laws in place around the world that were not necessarily written for AI, but they absolutely apply to AI. Privacy laws. Cybersecurity rules. Digital safety. Child protection. Consumer protection. Competition law," Brad Smith, vice-chair and president of Microsoft, said at Davos. "And now you have a new set of AI-specific rules and laws. And I do think there's more similarity than most people assume."
But others say there should be some standard set of rules by which to regulate AI technologies specifically.
These kinds of things are still very nascent. No one has answers just yet – Josephine Teo
Indeed, points out Wendell Wallach, senior scholar at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, where he is co-director of the AI and Equality Initiative, and author of the book Dangerous Master: How to keep technology from slipping beyond our control, some industries already have a number of regulations in place that also should regulate AI.
In terms of governing outcomes, regulations already exist – in some industries more than others. "Healthcare is pretty well regulated already, at least in the United States and Europe," says Wallach. "In a sense, many of the AI applications are going to be regulated by what already exists. So, the question is, what additional [regulations] do you need? You probably need different forms of testing and compliance in some areas."
For example, in the US, healthcare regulations hold that a physician has a duty of care; if they misdiagnose a patient, they could be liable for medical malpractice. If a doctor relies on AI to help diagnose patients and gets a diagnosis wrong, they could still be liable (although, experts note, there's the issue of plausible deniability: whether it will become common to blame the AI for making the mistake). But that means governing the outcome – the misdiagnosis.
And many experts think even that doesn't go far enough. There need to be more safety measures in place to regulate the processes itself: quality-control assessments of the underlying data that made that misdiagnosis, for example.
"There will have to be different ways of demonstrating whether an AI is being implemented in a responsible way. And the question of how do you implement tests? How do you benchmark them?" said Josephine Teo, Singapore minister for communications and information, at a Davos panel. "These kinds of things are still very nascent. No one has answers just yet."
Overall, experts say, the key goal is to ensure that AI is used for good – whatever the approach.
"If you think about the work that's ahead of us – to deal with the climate crisis, to lift people's health and welfare, to make sure our kids get educated, and that people in their working lives can train for new skills… it's hard to see how we're going to do them without the power of AI," said Prabhakar. "In the American approach, we've always thought about doing this work of regulation as a means to that end – not just to protect rights, which is completely necessary not only to protect national security, but also to achieve these great aspirations."
[BBC]
After COVID and the war in Ukraine, free-trade boosters in Davos fretted over a new bout of turmoil in global supply chains due to rising geopolitical frictions.
The Israel-Hamas conflict, Yemeni rebels attacking ships in the Red Sea and tensions over Taiwan weighed on political and business elites at the five-day meeting of the World Economic Forum, which wrapped up Friday.
“There are geopolitical dynamics that are on our minds with respect to obviously the potential disruption of supply chains,” Francesco Ceccato, CEO of Barclays Europe, told AFP on the sidelines of the WEF.
“We thought we had normalised those after Covid. Clearly, that’s a little bit more precarious after … what is happening every day in the Red Sea,” he said.
Before Hamas’s attack on Israel in October, the World Trade Organization had forecast global trade growth of 3.3 per cent, an improvement from 0.8 per cent in 2023.
But WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told the forum this week that she was now “less optimistic” about world trade in 2024 due to “worsening geopolitical tensions”.
She added, however, that it would be “much better than what we saw in 2023. Unless a major war breaks out, then all bets are off.”
– Disruptions for ‘few months’ –
The Red Sea route carries about 12 per cent of global maritime trade, but the attacks have prompted many companies to take a massive and costly detour around the southern tip of Africa.
Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen say they are targetting Israel-linked ships in protest over the war in Gaza.
US and UK military forces have launched a series of strikes against rebel sites in Yemen.
The Huthis have “changed global trade and global shipping costs,” said Karen Harris, an economist at the consulting firm Bain & Co.
Vincent Clerc, the CEO of Danish shipping giant Maersk, said the conflict will probably disrupt supply chains “for a few months at least. Hopefully less, but it could be also longer because it’s so unpredictable”.
Automakers Tesla and Volvo were forced to temporarily suspend some production in Europe due to a shortage of parts.
Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, told the Davos conference that shipments of liquefied natural gas “will be affected” by the Red Sea tensions.
-Taiwan tensions
There are concerns along other major trade routes.
Taiwan’s presidential election last weekend renewed US-China tensions over the democratic island, which China considers a part of its territory that must be brought back under its control, by force if necessary.
Speaking in Davos, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recalled that a huge amount of commerce flows through the Taiwan Strait.
“If that were to be disrupted, it would affect the entire planet. And it’s about the last thing we need, especially coming back from Covid,” Blinken said.
Taiwan itself is a major producer of semiconductors, the microchips that are vital for a range of products from smartphones to cars.
“Any disruption in the flow of that product is going to be, again, a watch item or a concern,” Ceccato said.
– Green and tech trade spats –
Microchips are already at the heart of a trade spat between Washington and Beijing as the United States has tightened export curbs on the technology over national security concerns.
China is also squabbling with the European Union over the bloc’s probe into Chinese electric car subsidies.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang took the podium on Wednesday to slam “discriminatory” trade measures on green and tech trade.
Europe is also concerned about the huge subsidies for clean technologies in the United States under the Inflation Reduction Act.
But German Finance Minister Christian Lindner warned the EU against following in the Americans’ footsteps.
“We have to avoid a subsidy race,” Lindner told Friday’s panel.
Panama drought
On top of geopolitical tensions, climate change has also played tricks on global trade.
A drought and water shortages linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon reduced ship traffic through the Panama Canal.
“We have more sources of disruptions,” said Tobias Meyer, CEO of German logistics group DHL.
“It’s more likely that two, three, four of these events somehow accumulate. And that leads then in the system of transport to certain bottlenecks,” he said.
Harris said each disruption “simply reinforces the return on investment for near-shoring, re-shoring” — the act of bringing production home or closer instead of relying on factories across the world.
[AFP]
The elder statesman and convener of Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, has said the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari severely hampered the growth of the country and reversed the gains of his predecessors
Speaking while reviewing the performance of Buhari’s government, Clark said Buhari pushed Nigeria five decades backward.
Buhari had, on Tuesday, showered encomium on himself for giving his best to the country between 2015 and 2023, despite insecurity, economic hardship, and unemployment among other challenges that plagued the country under his watch.
The former leader said this at the book launch of his former media aide, Femi Adesina, in Abuja.
The two books, Adesina wrote are: ‘Working with Buhari: Reflections of A Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015-2023)’ and ‘Muhammadu Buhari: The Nigerian Legacy (Volume 1-5)’.
However, Clark, in a statement said the portrayal of Buhari’s government in the book did not reflect the parlous state of the nation and what Nigeria went through under him.
He said the books were contrary to the assessment of the majority of Nigerians of his administration, adding that Buhari’s government was beset by unprecedented economic downturn, insecurity and bigotry.
“I watched the public presentation of the book chronicling activities/achievements of Muhammadu Buhari during the eight years of his administration as President and Commander-In-Chief of the country, as contained in about 80 pages of the 488-page book,” the nonagenarian said.
“What struck me most is the attitude and statement of former President Buhari who eulogised his achievements as President of the country during the occasion.
“This, I must say, is contrary to the assessment of majority of Nigerians of his administration. To most of us as Nigerians, Muhammadu Buhari failed abysmally as President.
“His administration was full of insecurity, economic collapse, injustice, religious bigotry and lack of direction. The eight years of his administration plunged Nigeria and Nigerians, five decades backwards.
“Even his successor, the current President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, noted as much in his speech at the time of the occasion where Buhari was eulogising himself.
At least five persons were killed in the explosion
The reverberating shocks and aftermath of the explosion in Ibadan, Oyo State Capital, has killed a hotel manager, Tunde Solomon.
He died as result of the heart attack he suffered during Tuesday’s explosion that occurred at Dejo Oyelese close, Bodija Housing Estate in Ibadan.
At least five persons were killed in the explosion while several others suffered varying degree of injuries.
Property worth millions of naira were destroyed while hundreds of people have been displaced as a result of the incident.
Solomon, prior to his death, was Operations Manager of BON Hotel Nest Ibadan located few metres from the scene of the blast.
The management of the hotel announced the death of Solomon in a statement on Friday.
It described the deceased as selfless and dedicated, adding that he used his 25 years in the industry for the growth of the organization.
”We regret to inform you of the sudden passing of our beloved Operations Manager, Mr.Tunde Solomon. Mr. Solomon suffered a heart attack on the 17th of January 2024 and it is believed that was a consequence of the explosion which occurred on the 16th of January 2024 at Bodija.
”Mr. Tunde Solomon was a vastly experienced member of staff with more than 25 years in the industry. His commitment to his role and his contributions to the growth of BON Hotel Nest Ibadan and the BON group in general during his tenure were invaluable.
”His loss leaves a void that will be deeply felt by all who had the privilege of working alongside him. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Mr. Solomon’s family during this difficult time. Our thoughts and prayers are with them as they navigate through this challenging period,” the statement read
The All Progressives Congress, APC, has told Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State that there will be no automatic ticket for him.
The APC made the declaration ahead of the November 16, 2024, governorship poll in the state.
APC national spokesman, Felix Morka, made this known on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday.
According to him, the APC is democratic and everyone who desires a nomination must earn it.
When asked whether the APC would give Aiyedatiwa the right of first refusal ahead of the party’s primary for the November poll, Morka said, “We have not had that discussion but we are a democratic party; we are a progress party; we don’t give anything to people; people have to justify and earn it.
“And it is not to us they have to justify their suitability, their qualification, or criteria; it is to the people of the state who are our members, who would participate in the direct or indirect primary.
“Whatever preference anyone may have, it is all subject to the democratic decision of the party members who will participate in our primaries.
“We don’t give free gifts in APC; we contest and we compete and we win whatever it is we can get in terms of representation,” he added.
Morka also said he can’t pre-empt whether the governorship ticket would be zoned in Ondo or not.
“We are yet to engage on zoning. We will explain to the people if and when we do that,” he said.
Aiyedatiwa, formerly Ondo deputy governor, was sworn in as the substantive governor of the South-West state on December 27, 2023, following the death of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
Already, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has fixed the Ondo State Governorship Poll for November 16, 2024, barring last-minute changes.
Former Governor of Kano State and the leader of the Kwankwasiyya Movement, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said that the issue of Kano emirates will be revisited.
Former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje had split the Kano emirate into five and dethroned the then Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi.
Following the victory of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP, in last year’s election, Kwankwaso had said the government of Abba Kabir Yusuf would review Sanusi’s dethronement and the balkanisation of the emirate.
Speaking in an interview with newsmen in Kano on Friday, Kwankwaso restated that the issue of Kano emirates will definitely be revisited.
“Honestly it is one of the things that nobody has sat with me to discuss so far but I am sure we are going to sit and see how to go about it. Is it going to be allowed, demolished, corrected or whatever? It will be revisited, what’s supposed to be done will be done.
“There were a lot of things and this was a trap. All these things were not done in good faith or intention. It was brought with some bad intentions which everyone of you here and our listeners are aware of.
“Sometimes you come with things that are good and they turn out to be bad while sometimes you bring things that are bad and they turn out to be good. So, all I know is that I was not consulted as of now but definitely we will come to discuss and see what should be done.”
It has been observed that since the Supreme Court validated Governor Abba Yusuf’s election, there has been intensified calls for Sanusi’s reinstatement.
More...
The acting Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt. Chris Najomo, disclosed on Friday that the agency will not be relocating its headquarters to Lagos.
Speaking at an interactive session with journalists to unveil his vision for the NCAA, titled “NCAA Project 2024,” in Lagos, Capt. Najomo stated that the NCAA headquarters remains in Abuja.
“NCAA has not received a directive to relocate; we are still in Abuja,” the acting DG said.
LEADERSHIP reports that NCAA was one of the agencies that the former Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Sen. Hadi Sirika, asked to relocate their head office to Abuja in 2020.
However, the directive by the current Aviation Minister, Festus Keyamo, directing the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to relocate to Lagos raised speculations that other Aviation agencies may follow suit.
Criticism followed FAAN’s relocation, with stakeholders describing it as a misplaced priority.
According to the general secretary of Aviation Round Table Initiative (ARTI), Olumide Ohunayo, the minister should be more concerned about providing quality and efficient facilities than relocating the agencies.
“I am more concerned with the provision of quality facilities at the airport, extending operating hours, fixing the runway, its lighting system, as well as the repair of the lift at the control tower. These are more important than the relocation of the agencies. We need to manage this relocation issue before we get distracted, especially now that we have new management and expanded directorates.
“The relocation should be planned rather than sudden because a huge amount of money will be spent on relocation. I would rather want necessary departments that can work from Lagos to be in Lagos while others can still be in Abuja. I don’t think relocation should be a major priority at the moment, and if it has to be, it should be a gradual process and must be justified by looking at cost components.”
He continued, “I am not seeing it as cheering news, but we should see the provision of infrastructure as important, certification of the airports, and proper structuring of regular and operational staff to put necessary bite into the organisation and place it where it should be.”
Also speaking, the former Commandant, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, Capt John Ojikutu, also corroborated Ohunayo, berating the Minister for prioritising relocation against drawing a roadmap for the sector.
According to him, more pressing issues such as foreign airlines’ trapped funds, among other challenges bedevilling the sector, are more important than relocation.
“Why not ask them to relocate to Enugu, Owerri, or Port Harcourt? There is a problem with our politicians, for God’s sake. Which day did they move them out of Lagos to Abuja that they are moving them? Why did the government move them in the first place?
“What are the economic and administrative reasons for moving them? Now, these people will be moving from wherever they are back to Abuja because when they are in Lagos, the management is travelling to Abuja two to three times a week, wasting government resources. Now, they will come back to Lagos and start from ground zero.”
[Leadership]
Protest has broken out in Lafia, Nasarawa State capital, following the Supreme Court verdict which affirmed the election of Governor Abdullahi Sule in the March 18, 2023 election in the state.
The Lafia-Jos road has been completely blocked as the protesters lit bonfire to prevent travelers and other road users.
Daily Trust reporter, who was at the scene of the protest, reports that motorists had to take alternative routes out of Lafia.
An automobile mechanic, Mallam Dogo Audu, called for the deployment of more security operatives to restore calm and avert escalation.
Our correspondent also reports that shops owners and business centres have shut down.
[DailyTrust]
The Federal Government has given Electricity Distribution Companies, DisCos, in Nigeria the nod to buy electricity directly from power generation companies, GenCos.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, disclosed this in its 2024 Multi-year Tariff Order, MYTO, which was recently issued to the country’s 11 DisCos.
NERC noted that the DisCos can procure electricity directly from GenCos through bilateral contracts.
The regulator said the new order recognises a revision to the DisCos’ partially contracted capacity, PCC, to ensure a minimum energy offtake from January 1 2024.
Accordingly, NERC said the minimum energy offtake requirement for the 11 DisCos this year is 4,063MWh/h.
The DisCos are required “to secure adequate bilateral contracts to facilitate a seamless exit from NBET’s vesting contract regime,” it said.
NERC explained that through bilateral contracts, the DisCos are required to mitigate their “exposure to volumetric energy risks”, adding that they would have no recourse to claim revenue shortfall arising from generation shortfalls effective January 2024.
The development will end the ten-year reign of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, NBET, which buys electricity in bulk from generation companies through power purchase agreements and sells through vesting contracts to the DisCos.
Ayodele Oni, an energy law expert and partner at Bloomfield Law Practice, speaking on the development, said, “With the just released 2024 Multi-Year Tariff Order for each DisCo, it would appear that DisCos are now generally allowed to procure bilateral power from generation companies, directly.
“This is in preparation for the transition of the bulk trader, NBET.”
DAILY POST gathered that under the partial activation of contract, PAC regime, DisCos have take-or-pay obligations on their Partially Contracted Capacity, PCC, meaning they must pay for available capacity irrespective of their offtake.
[DailyPost]
Two persons have reportedly been kidnapped in a military estate on the outskirts of Abuja, the nation’s capital.
It was learnt that the bandits invaded Phase 2, Army Estate, Kurudu at about 10 pm on Thursday, January 18.
According to eyewitnesses, there was an exchange of gunfire between the bandits and the estate security officials.
However, the gunmen were said to have escaped with two victims.
Recall that Abuja has witnessed a significant rise in the number of kidnapping incidents recently.
On Wednesday, FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike vowed to make Abuja hot for kidnappers.
The minister said he had received marching orders from President Bola Tinubu to provide all that the security agencies would need to keep the federal capital safe.
In the same vein, Inspector-General of Police, (IGP), Olukayode Egbetokun, established a Special Intervention Squad (SIS), in the Federal Capital Territory to curb the activities of kidnappers and bandits.
The SIS has in the last two days deployed to the six Area Councils of Abuja, more especially in Bwari where the kidnappers are operating daily.
Reacting to the incident, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, SP Josphine Adeh told our correspondent that all questions on the incident should be directed to the Army spokesman.
Details shortly…
[TheNation]