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THE POWER SITUATION BY PRESIDENT BUHARI !!!

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Buhari Assures Of Additional 10,000 Megawatts In Next Three Years

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President Muhammadu Buhari said on Monday that his administration would ensure steady power supply before the expiration of his tenure through the provision of additional 10,000 megawatts.

 

The President gave the assurance at the National Economic Council Retreat holding at the Presidential Banquet Hall, Abuja.

 

According to him, 2,000 of the anticipated10,000 megawatts will be added to the national grid in 2016.

 

“Nigerians’ favourite talking point and butt of jokes is the power situation in our country. But, it is no longer a laughing matter.

“We must and by the grace of God we will put things right.

“In the three years left for this administration we have given ourselves the target of 10,000 megawatts distributable power.

“In 2016 alone, we intend to add 2,000 megawatts to the national grid.

“In our determination to change we must and will, Insha Allah, put a stop to power shortages.’’

 

The President, who stated that the nation was facing the classic dilemma of privatisation of the power sector, noted that no remarkable improvement in the quality of service had been recorded after the exercise.

 

He, however, stated that the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) must ensure that consumers get value for money and over-all public interest is safe-guarded as government will complete the process of the privatisation.

 

Buhari further gave assurance that government will hasten the completion of pipelines from gas points to power stations.

 

He said that more security to protect gas and oil pipelines would be provided while power companies should be encouraged to replace obsolete equipment and improve the quality of service and technicians.

 

He maintained that the companies must also address the problem of high electricity bills in spite constant power cuts.

On the manufacturing sub-sector, President Buhari expressed regret over the inability of some industries in the country to obtain foreign exchange to import raw materials and spare parts.

 

“Painful though this is, I believe it is a temporary phase which we shall try to overcome but there are deeper, more structural problems bedevilling local industries which this retreat should identify short and long-term answers to’’.

President Buhari, who also spoke on current state of the nation’s agriculture, noted that for too long government policies on agriculture had been “half-hearted, suffering from inconsistencies and discontinuities.”

He, therefore, stressed the need for urgent government action to ensure self-sufficiency in food production.

 

According to him, the nation’s real wealth lies in farming, livestock, hatcheries, fishery, horticulture and forestry.

The President directed the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to convene early meeting of stakeholders and identify problems facing the agricultural sector with a view to addressing them.

 

He also urged the media to enlighten the public on government’s efforts towards increasing local food production so as to bring down food prices in the markets.

 

President Buhari called on state governments and commercial banks to provide more incentives to small holder and medium scale farmers to boost agricultural activities.

 

“Banks should be leaned upon to substantially increase their lending to the agricultural sector.

“Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should bear part of the risk of such loans as a matter of national policy.

“States should increase their financial support through community groups.

“The appropriate approach should be through leaders of community groups such as farmers’ cooperatives.

“Provision of feeder roads by state governments to enable more effective evacuation of produce to markets and processing factories.’’

 

He recalled the 1950s, when Nigeria’s foreign exchange earners were from the export of groundnuts, cotton, cocoa, palm kernel, rubber and all agro/forest resources.

He further stated that regional banks and development corporations in all the three regions were financed from farm surpluses.

 

“When I was a schoolboy in the 1950’s the country produced one million tons of groundnuts in two successive years.

“The country’s main foreign exchange earners were groundnuts, cotton, cocoa, palm kernels, rubber and all agro/forest resources.

“Regional banks and development corporations in all the three regions were financed from farm surpluses.

“In other words, our capital formation rode on the backs of our farmers.

“Why was farming so successful 60 years ago? The answers are simple:

“Access to small scale credits, inputs (fertilizers, herbicides etc)

“Now we have better tools, better agricultural science and technology, and greater ability to process.

“With determination we can succeed.’’

 

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari, expressed displeasure at the drastic fall in income from the Federal Accounts Allocation.

 

He, however, stressed the need for the country’s natural resources to be harnessed to address the current economic challenges.

Yari expressed hope that the retreat will come up with practical solutions aimed at growing the nation’s economy.

 

All the governors except Rivers, Benue and Lagos states (represented by their respective deputies) attended the opening of the two-day retreat being presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

 

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, and the Minister of Budget and Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma were among other top government functionaries in attendance.

 

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Former South African President Jacob Zuma involved in car crash

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South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma has been involved in a car crash overnight after a vehicle transporting him was hit by a drunk driver, police said on Friday.

Zuma, however, escaped from the accident unhurt.

The car crash happened just hours after electoral officials barred Zuma from standing in the May 29 general election, further stoking tensions in the run-up to the polls.

The driver’s car “collided with former president Mr Jacob Zuma’s official armoured state vehicle”, the South African Police Service (SAPS) said.

The 51-year-old man was arrested in KwaZulu Natal province “for drunken driving, as well as on a charge of reckless and negligent driving”, SAPS said.

Zuma and his bodyguards escaped uninjured and the 81-year-old was taken to his place of residence.

Zuma, a former veteran of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), was forced out of office in 2018 under a cloud of corruption allegations but still wields political clout.

In December he announced he would be campaigning for the opposition uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party in an attempt to relaunch his career — a major blow to the ANC.

On Wednesday the ANC launched a new court application against MK, after losing an initial bid to have it disqualified.

The ANC says that MK’s name and logo are similar to those of the now disbanded apartheid-era military wing of the ANC once led by Nelson Mandela, and that this could deceive or confuse voters.

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Delta monarch declared wanted over murder of army personnel turns himself in

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Clement Ikolo Oghenerukevwe, monarch of Ewu-Urhobo kingdom in Delta, has reported to the police, hours after the military named him as one of the wanted persons for the murder of 17 army personnel in Okuama.

Bright Edafe, Delta state police spokesperson, confirmed Oghenerukevwe’s surrender to newsmen on Friday.

Edafe said the monarch turned himself in on Thursday.

“We have already handed him over to the military, they were the ones that declared him wanted,” the spokesperson said.

The Defence Headquarters had on Thursday declared Oghenerukevwe among eight persons wanted in connection to the murder of the army personnel.

Among those declared wanted are Ekpekpo Arthur, a professor of physics at the Delta State University; Akeywiru Omotegbono, Andaowei Bakrikri, Igoli Ebi, a lady; Akata David, Sinclear Oliki, and Reuben Baru.

Before turning himself in, the monarch released a statement to plead his innocence.

“I am very surprised that my name as the monarch of the kingdom will appear in the list of wanted persons. I have no hand in the killings, I have no hand in encouraging anybody to kill anybody, it is against my philosophy as a human being and my faith as a Catholic,” he said.

“It is a serious crime against humanity and they need to look at the appropriate places and do thorough investigation to know all those who have committed this and bring them to book and let justice prevail.

“I am not a party to this and like I have said earlier, the state government is aware of the turbulence I have been going through and as I speak, an arrangement was made by the government to invite the opponents recently just before this happenings.”

After the killing of the army personnel, President Bola Tinubu and the military high command promised that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.

Speaking during the burial ceremony of the late personnel, Taoreed Lagbaja, chief of army staff (COAS), said it was “highly demoralising” that the soldiers were killed by those they were equipped to protect.

The army chief added that it took over 72 hours of search to recover the vital organs of some of the deceased soldiers.

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Bus conveying 46 passengers crashes in South Africa – 8-year-old is sole survivor

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Forty-five passengers died on Thursday when a bus conveying them crashed through a barrier of a bridge in South Africa.

Only an eight-year-old child survived accident with multiple injuries.

The bus was said to have caught fire after it fell off a bridge approximately 300km north of Johannesburg in the north-eastern Limpopo province.

BBC reports that the passengers were pilgrims travelling from Botswana’s capital Gaborone to an Easter service in the town of Moria.

The vehicle lost control and went off a bridge on the Mmamatlakala mountain pass between Mokopane and Marken, around 300km (190 miles) north of Johannesburg, according to South African public broadcaster SABC.

Speaking with reporters after visiting the scene, Sindisiwe Chikunga, South Africa’s minister of transportation, said the government will carry out an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time,” Chikunga said.

We continue to urge responsible driving at all times with heightened alertness as more people are on our roads this Easter weekend.”

In his Easter message to South Africans, President Cyril Ramaphosa called on citizens to “do our best to make this a safe Easter”.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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