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Nigeria’s power minister condemns vandalization of energy infrastructure

Published

8 months ago

March 19, 2024

Adebayo Adelabu, Nigeria’s minister of power, has lamented the enormous amount of money lost as a result of vandals’ constant attacks on electricity infrastructure, where they blow up these facilities with explosives.

This occurred as the minister gave assurances regarding the government’s strategy to reduce debt (N2 trillion from gas providers and N1.3 trillion from GENCOs) and increase service delivery efficiency throughout the value chain.

The Minister expressed happiness with the utility company’s scorecard while being greeted by a group headed by Mrs Folake Soetan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Ikeja Electric.

“Let me start by congratulating you for the good job that you are doing here and in every district, you are still topping the list,” the Minister remarked during the formal visit to IE’s headquarters.

“I am bothered about what is happening. I am not discouraged by the sinking reputation of the power sector’s operators. I believe that this is the time that we can go around the operators to ensure that we do things differently.

“With my six months foray in this sector, I found out that achieving a stable, uninterrupted, functional, electric supply is not insurmountable. It is not as the issues are so simple. It is not rocket science. You know what to do, what to fix, what to get, and with time, you get significant improvements. It can start gradually.

He said: “There is a lack of funding in the sector, which has led to the issue of infrastructure deficit. Once, we have the money (which we are working on) and can pay for gas suppliers and generation debts, we will achieve an operational capacity of almost 8,000MW, as we have almost 13,000 installed capacity.

“On the infrastructure deficit, there is a need for the DISCOs to as a matter of urgency, drive more investment to the sector as certain infrastructure is needed to drive capacity. So, when you have an increased power supply, you should not be caught unaware.

On subsidy, Adelabu said: “We will not allow little or low investment in the sector, else it will be achieved by legislation. I am looking at capitalization requirements for DISCOs that will compel them to bring more funds. Because the power business is highly capital-intensive and requires lots of investment in infrastructure.

“But investment can never be lost; it always translates into revenue for sales and revenues for the investor. So, we believe that our Discos must be ready to invest in high-impact infrastructure.”

Since January of this year, the appalling state of the electricity supply has gotten worse as gas suppliers to gas-fired thermal power plants have stopped supplying the product to the plants because of the $1.3 billion in debt that the electricity-producing facilities owe.

Related Topics:Adebayo Adelabu Featured Nigeria's power minister

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Food prices drive second straight monthly hike in Nigeria’s inflation

Published

11 hours ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to official statistics released on Friday, Nigeria’s inflation rate increased for the second consecutive month in October, rising to 33.88% in annual terms from 32.70% in September, mostly as a result of increasing food costs.

In an attempt to boost economic development and strengthen public finances, President Bola Tinubu devalued the naira and reduced subsidies, which caused inflation to spike in the second half of last year.

As the effects of the naira devaluation started to lessen in July of this year, a slew of hikes in the price of petroleum and devastating floods that destroyed crops once again exacerbated pricing pressures, making the greatest cost-of-living crisis in decades worse in Africa’s most populous country.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, price increases for basics such as rice, maize, bread, potatoes, and cooking oil prompted food inflation to surge from 37.77% in October to 39.16% year over year.

This year, more than 1.5 million hectares of agriculture have been damaged by torrential rain and floods in 29 of Nigeria’s 36 states, leaving millions hungry and displacing large numbers of people.

In an effort to curb inflation, the central bank has raised interest rates five times this year. On November 26, it is expected to make its final rate decision of the year.

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MTN financial report reveals drop in group service revenue

Published

11 hours ago

November 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Due to operational difficulties in Sudan and the depreciation of the Nigerian naira, MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecom provider, announced on Thursday an 18.5% decline in service revenue for the third quarter that concluded on September 30.

With 288 million users in 17 African regions, MTN said that its group service revenue dropped from 156.3 billion rand ($6.99 billion) in the same quarter of the previous year to 127.4 billion rand.

Despite stating that “the naira was less volatile on a sequential basis in Q3 than in preceding quarters,” the business reported a 48.7% decline in MTN Nigeria’s income due to the currency’s depreciation.

Due to a stronger Ugandan shilling than the previous year, Uganda’s largest contributor, MTN South Africa (MTN SA), expanded by a meagre 3.3%.

Due to “subscriber registration regulations in Nigeria and a decline in users in Sudan, where the conflict has displaced millions of people,” the business reported that its subscriber base increased by 1.6% to 288 million.

Given the higher demand in Nigeria despite the legal obstacles, MTN plans to increase its capital expenditures, which it expects would total between 28 and 33 billion rand for the entire year.