Power shortage will become a doom's day scenario if not handled properly - NERC Boss

Acting Chairman /Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Anthony Akah, has said that if care is not taken, the shortfall in the power sector will hit N3 trillion by the end of this year. Akah revealed this in a statement over the weekend.

“This is like a doom’s day scenario because if care is not taken, shortfall in power sector will hit N3 trillion by end of 2016. The reason is lack of revenue attributed to the services provided but don’t get paid for”, he said. In October, Nigeria Electricity Hub, an initiative of Nextier Power, said that the Nigerian electricity supply market will record an estimated N1 trillion shortfall by December 2016, which could lead to systemic bankruptcy and a risk of nationwide blackout if left unresolved.

The CEO of Niger Delta Power Holding (NDPHC), Chiedu Ugbo, also stated that since the establishment of the company’s first power plant in 2011, estimated energy invoiced by the eight power plants currently amounted to N235.4 billion. Of this estimate, about 55.3 percent, he explained, has been paid while the remaining 44.7 percent is still outstanding and owed by the Discos, and as of August 2016, debts owed the company by the market stood at N105 billion. “The implication is far reaching: capacity utilisation, low productivity, inability to meet obligations, asset replacement issues and finally it challenges them as a going concern,” the NDPHC boss said.

 While speaking, Antony Akah described the huge shortfall as a “doom’s day scenario”, saying it came about as a result of services rendered by the different strata of the sector yet-to-be paid for by consumers. He mentioned power theft, metre by-pass, unpaid bills as some of the causes for the shortfall. He then explained that power loses are usually estimated and added to the bills/tarrifs of those customers with metres.

The Chief Executive Officer, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Azu Obiaya, had earlier assessed the liquidity challenge from the perspective of the Discos. Discos are experiencing a revenue shortfall of N38 billion monthly and that the government alone, through its ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), currently owes the Discos about N58 billion, he said. This, the ANED CEO said, could amount to N309 billion by the end of the year, and that the Discos’ books no longer reflect cash flows that were necessary for lenders to accept funding their ongoing projects.

He also noted that as of December 2015, the Discos were experiencing a revenue shortfall of N298 billion due to the non-cost reflectivity of MYTO.0, a tariff plan then in force in the power sector in Nigeria.

As a result of this, the NERC approved electricity tariff increases to raise liquidity for the sector but its implementation was suspended for about six months, resulting in losses of about N13 billion for the Discos. Apart from these, other losses are coming through inflation of the naira and its weakness against major international currencies as well as from pipeline vandalism.

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Senate makes dramatic turn as it drops the name of Buhari's successful nominee for commissioner of NCC

TWELVE days after the Senate cleared Chief Okoi Ofem Obono-Obla, Cross River, South South, as a non-Executive Commissioner on the governing board of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, it has made a dramatic turn by dropping his name from the list of successful nominees sent to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Obono-Obla’s name was removed in the letter transmitted to Buhari as one of those confirmed by the legislature.

In the letter dated November 22, signed by Senate President Bukola Saraki, a copy of which was obtained yesterday, Obono-Obla was listed as one of the three whose nominations were rejected by the Senate.
It would be recalled that Oboni-Obla was among the five whose nominations by President Buhari were approved by the Senate on November 17, 2016, while two of the nominees were dropped.

At the plenary, those whose appointments were confirmed were Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye (Chairman/Ogun/South-West), Senator Ifeanyi Ararume(Non- Executive Commissioner/Imo/South East), Sunday Dare (Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management/Oyo/South-West), Okoi Ofem; Obono-Obla (Non-Executive Commissioner/Cross River/South-South) and Clement Omeiza Baiye (Non-Executive Commissioner/Kogi/North-Central).
The lawmakers, however, dropped Aliyu Abubakar (Non-Executive Commissioner/Bauchi/North-East) and Pastor Ezekiel Yissa (Non-Executive Commissioner/Kwara/North-Central).
According to the report of Senator Gilbert Nnaji led Committee on Communications, Pastor Ezekiel was rejected because of his background as a nursing officer.
The second nominee rejected by the Senate, Alitu Abubakar, had repeatedly called for the scrapping of the Senate, even when he appeared before the Senate for screening, saying the existence of the Senate was not justifiable.
He also pointed out that the upper chamber was only wasting the nation’s resources by its existence.
Obono-Obla, who is the Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution, attached to the Ministry of Justice, protested in an email sent yesterday against what he described as back-door removal.
The mail was titled, Can the Senate President unilaterally overrule the confirmation of a nominee by the Senate?
The nominee, who asked why he was removed after the Senate had confirmed his nomination, simply said: “The entire major electronic and print media organs in the country, on November 17 and 18, 2016, carried the confirmation by the Senate of the Board of Nigerian Communications Commission.
“Surprisingly and curiously, the Senate President, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, in a letter dated November 22, 2016, to President Muhammadu Buhari, titled ‘Confirmation of Appointments,’ falsely stated that the Senate did not confirm the following nominees: Aliyu Saidu Abubakar; Pastor Ezekiel Yissa and Chief Okoi Ofem Obono-Obla.”

culled from Vanguardngr

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Why PDP lost to Rotimi Akeredolu's APC - Sen. Buruji Kashamu

Senator Buruji Kashamu yesterday explained why his political party, the Peoples Democratic Party, lost the Saturday’s Ondo State governorship election to the All Progressives Congress.


Kashamu, in a statement signed by him, said that no one should mistake the pronouncements of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court over the Ondo State PDP governorship ticket as their judgments on the party’s national leadership crisis.

He said that the refusal of the Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, to listen to advice on where his successor should come from worked against him and the PDP during the election.


Kashamu said, “We told Governor Mimiko that after eight years in office, the good people of Ondo State would resist the injustice of producing a successor from the same senatorial district where he hails from.

“It is not that Jegede is not a good material. He is urbane, intelligent and smart. He would have probably won had he come from any other senatorial zone than Mimiko’s.

“We told Mimiko that the people would not take anything that would look like a third term for him and his senatorial district. He would not listen.

“ Mimiko turned deaf ears to wise counsel, just like he turned his back on all those who helped him to power.

“Despite being the Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, Mimiko turned himself into Fayose’s puppet, allowing Fayose to lead him by the nose.”

On the claim by the spokesman for the National Caretaker Committee of the PDP, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, that the party would impose severe sanction on Sheriff and members of his faction, Kashamu said such action would fail.

But he said that neither he nor any member of the faction was afraid of such impending sacrifice since, he said, they were fighting for the interest of their people.

He said, “”No one is afraid of any sanction so long as we know that we are fighting to protect the interest of our people.

“A political party is a congregation of people with a common goal yet with various interests. In every political setting, people align and realign with the bloc or group where they feel their interest is better protected and guaranteed.

“If your bloc or group wins, it does not mean you should seek to emasculate the other because you never can tell what would happen tomorrow.

“I wish to advise that no one should mistake the verdicts of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court over the Ondo State PDP governorship ticket as their pronouncements on the national leadership crisis.

“They are two separate issues that I hope we can still resolve amicably. Anyone talking of sanctioning any member of the party for fighting to protect his interest does not wish the party well.”

He said that the gale of sanctions in Osun, Ogun and Kwara states would further exacerbate the crisis in the party, adding, “the truth is, such a move that will further undermine the party and its leadership.

“Is anyone saying that if tomorrow the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court rule in favour of any of the national leaders, he should send all those in support of the other out of the party when all the 36 states are polarised along the lines of Senators Sheriff and Makarfi? No. That is not the spirit of party politics and participatory democracy.”

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30 Million Bank Accounts Abandoned By Nigerians.

The total number of inactive bank accounts in Nigeria stand at 30.26 million despite efforts by banks to retain old customers and attract new ones.

The accounts, activated by commercial banks for new holders but later abandoned to dormancy by the customers now constitute 32.42 per cent of the total 94.388 million activated bank accounts in the country.

Consequently, only 64.128 million accounts that represent 68.7 per cent of the total activated accounts domiciled in commercial banks are functional.

According to the latest industry statistics obtained by Daily Trust from the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc over the weekend, the growing wave of new, active and dormant accounts across savings and currents account types in the country has been progressively steady.

Giving the year-to-date (YTD) analysis of the latest report up till October this year, NIBSS indicated that a total of 4.13 million accounts have become dormant within the period, jacking up dormant account base to the current figure from 26.042 million it stood at the end Q4, 2015.

NIBSS further stated that from a figure of 85.018 million accounts in December 2105, total account base in the country has grown by 11.02 per cent as 9.37 million new accounts were activated within the period.

In its breakdown, 30.063 million, 2.896 million and 2.365 million new accounts came on board in Q1, Q2 and Q3 2016 respectively, while in October, the figure maintained the upward momentum by 1.12 per cent as 1.046 million new accounts were recorded in the month alone.

Meanwhile, further analysis data revealed savings accounts as constituting the largest chunk of the total activated bank accounts as it stood at 66.255 million while current accounts are just 25.58 million.

Experts have also warned that Nigerians, who make use of dormant bank accounts, should not throw caution to the wind as the account might generate debt.

A customer, who preferred not to be named, recounted her ordeal with one of Nigeria’s leading banks, saying “My dormant bank account generated a debt which kept growing overtime, so, one must be careful.”

According to Investopedia, a dormant account has had no activity for a long period of time, other than posting interest and a statute of limitations usually does not apply to it, so funds can be claimed by the owner or beneficiary at any time.

However, it will be recalled that until a new dormant account management policy was released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) late in 2015, commercial banks in Nigeria have always converted customers’ money in dormant accounts from liabilities to income of the banks. While the apex bank put an end to this standard by also directing banks to reverse such conversion of customers’ money made five years before the 2015 policy which was in favour of account holders, analysts said this must have also contributed to the growing rate of dormant accounts.

Source:
http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/business/nigerians-abandon-30m-bank-accounts/173512.html#f2r5GUdO8fr6mPY8.99

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INEC Declares 340, 634 Registered Voters For Lagos Bye Election On Saturday

Lagos -The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has 340, 634 registered voters for the Dec. 3 bye-election in Ifako-Ijaiye Federal Constituency of Lagos State.

Clement Oha, INEC Administrative Secretary in Lagos State told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the distribution of Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) was ongoing ahead of the poll.

“We are distributing PVCs so eligible registered voters can still go to INEC office in Ifako Ijaiye Local Government and pick up their PVCs,” Oha said.

The INEC official explained that not every registered voter had PVCs to exercise their voting rights as many were either dead or relocated out of the state.

He urged registered voters in the constituency to collect their PVCs at the local INEC office in order to participate in the election.

Oha said that INEC was ready to conduct a free and fair election urged politicians and their supporters to be peaceful before, during and after the poll.

According to the INEC official, Ifako/Ijaiye Federal Constituency had 335 polling units and 687 voting points where accreditation and voting would be conducted simultaneously.

The commission had concluded the training of 50 Supervisory Presiding Officers (SPOs) and 3, 440 corps members for the election.

The six political parties that would contest in next Saturday’s poll are: Action Alliance (AA), Alliance for Democracy (AD), African Democratic Party (ADC) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The rest are Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP).

Mr Elijah Adewale, who represented the constituency in the House of Representatives, died on July 20 and INEC had fixed Dec. 3 for the bye-election into the vacant seat.

Source:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/11/340-634-registered-voters-lagos-bye-election-saturday-inec/

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Senate Drops Cleared Buhari’s NCC Nominee

Barely two weeks after the Senate cleared Chief Okoi Ofem Obono-Obla, Cross River, South South, as a non-Executive Commissioner on the governing board of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, it has made a dramatic turn by dropping his name from the list of successful nominees sent to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Obono-Obla’s name was removed in the letter transmitted to Buhari as one of those confirmed by the legislature.

In the letter dated November 22, signed by Senate President Bukola Saraki, a copy of which was obtained yesterday, Obono-Obla was listed as one of the three whose nominations were rejected by the Senate.
It would be recalled that Oboni-Obla was among the five whose nominations by President Buhari were approved by the Senate on November 17, 2016, while two of the nominees were dropped.

At the plenary, those whose appointments were confirmed were Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye (Chairman/Ogun/South-West), Senator Ifeanyi Ararume(Non- Executive Commissioner/Imo/South East), Sunday Dare (Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management/Oyo/South-West), Okoi Ofem; Obono-Obla (Non-Executive Commissioner/Cross River/South-South) and Clement Omeiza Baiye (Non-Executive Commissioner/Kogi/North-Central).
The lawmakers, however, dropped Aliyu Abubakar (Non-Executive Commissioner/Bauchi/North-East) and Pastor Ezekiel Yissa (Non-Executive Commissioner/Kwara/North-Central).
According to the report of Senator Gilbert Nnaji led Committee on Communications, Pastor Ezekiel was rejected because of his background as a nursing officer.

The second nominee rejected by the Senate, Alitu Abubakar, had repeatedly called for the scrapping of the Senate, even when he appeared before the Senate for screening, saying the existence of the Senate was not justifiable.
He also pointed out that the upper chamber was only wasting the nation’s resources by its existence.

Obono-Obla, who is the Special Assistant to the President on Prosecution, attached to the Ministry of Justice, protested in an email sent yesterday against what he described as back-door removal.

The mail was titled, Can the Senate President unilaterally overrule the confirmation of a nominee by the Senate?

The nominee, who asked why he was removed after the Senate had confirmed his nomination, simply said: “The entire major electronic and print media organs in the country, on November 17 and 18, 2016, carried the confirmation by the Senate of the Board of Nigerian Communications Commission.

“Surprisingly and curiously, the Senate President, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, in a letter dated November 22, 2016, to President Muhammadu Buhari, titled ‘Confirmation of Appointments,’ falsely stated that the Senate did not confirm the following nominees: Aliyu Saidu Abubakar; Pastor Ezekiel Yissa and Chief Okoi Ofem Obono-Obla.”

source:

www.vanguardngr.com/2016/11/senate-makes-u-turn-drops-already-cleared-buharis-nominee/

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African Man Marries His Own Mother

Slovo Park near Siyabuswa, South Africa, villagers were torn with joy and surprise as they witnessed a rather strange wedding where a mother and son exchanged wedding vows.

The son, a traditional healer from Siyabuswa in Mpumalanga, said he married his biological mother in awedding ceremony to appease his ancestors. He now calls his mother “my wife”.

On Sunday more than 2000 people turned up to witness the wedding of ButiMphethi, 28, to his mother Francinah Makunyane, 62.
But it wasn’t the kind of marriage where a man takes a wife to love and have children.

Buti Mhethi married his mother so that she could be accepted into the Mphethi family.

“The ancestors will reward Buti for what he has done today,” said his 62-year-old mother, Francinah, whose family name used to be Makunyane.

Now she is a proud member of the Mphethi family.

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