Delta inaugurates high powered committee – TheNigerialawyer

Delta State Government has constituted a high powered committee
to work with the organized labor towards the implementation the new
minimum wage for the state public service.

Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr. Chiedu Ebie who
inaugurated the committee on behalf of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, is
the chairman of the committee which has the Permanent Secretary in
the office of the SSG, Mr. Jerome Morka as secretary.

Other members include, the Chief of Staff to the Governor,
Olorogun David Edebvie; the state Head of Service, Mr. Reginald
Bayoko; Senior Policy Adviser to the Governor, Prof. Sylvester
Monye; Commissioner for Finance, Sir Fidelis Tilije; chairman of
the state Civil Service Commission, Nkem Okwuofu; and chairman of
Local Government Bureau for Pensions, Mr. Ben Igo.

Inaugurating the committee, Mr. Ebie said the state government
was passionate about the wellbeing of public servants in the
state.

He said the governor had already directed that discussion with
Labor should commence in earnest so that a mutually agreeable
scheme based on the new minimum wage would be developed for the
benefit of Delta State workers.

Senate Probes Gencos, Discos over unsteady power
supply
…Power Committee to submit probe report in four weeks

The Senate has mandated its Committee on Power to investigate
the activities of power generating and distribution companies with
a view to unraveling the cause of unsteady power supply in
Nigeria.

The investigating committee has four weeks to submit its report
to the Senate for consideration.

The decision by the upper chamber to probe power generation,
transmission and distribution in the country was reached sequel to
a motion considered during plenary on Tuesday.

Sponsor of the motion, Senator Chukwuka Utazi (PDP, Enugu North)
said Nigeria, with a population of 200 million and an annual growth
rate of 2.6 percent per annum, is the seventh most populous nation
on earth.

According to Utazi, the power generating or installed capacity
of Nigeria in relation to its population and Gross Domestic Product
cannot place the country to compete favourably in terms of
development with other nations.

He, therefore, called on the Federal Government to find
solutions to the power deficits faced by the country.

Citing Indonesia and Philippines as examples, the lawmaker noted
that both countries with a population of 267 million and 107
million, respectively, have installed power capacity of 60,000
megawatts and generating capacity of 42,465 megawatts as well as
installed capacity of 20,055 megawatts and generating capacity of
16,271 megawatts.

The lawmaker while expressing optimism that Nigeria can set a
realisable target of generating capacity of 100,000 megawatts in
the next ten years, said same can be achieved through a mix of
energy sources such as natural gas, hydro, coal, wind and renewable
energy.

He added that the various zones in the country are naturally
positioned to take advantage of the various energy mix and
renewables, particularly solar energy.

“The northern part of the country with vast expanse of land can
tap into large solar farms while the southern parts of the country
with significant reserves of natural gas and cola can generate
power from same.

“Both the north and South have large water bodies that can still
be dammed for hydro,” Utazi said.

The lawmaker further posited that Nigeria can improve on its
transmission infrastructure by up-scaling its networks from the
current 330kv and 132kv to 765kv super grid to enable big power
plants to send power through such grid over long distances.

He added that beyond generation and transmission, Distribution
Companies (DisCos) lack the financial and technical capacities
required, thereby resulting in their inability to pay for power
which Generation Companies (GenCos) deliver to the grid.

Underscoring the motive behind the privatization of the power
sector in 2013, Utazi stressed that the objective in privatizing
power distribution assets was not to achieve highest financial
bids, but rather to get capable companies that can achieve the
lowest Average Technical Commercial and Collection losses within
five years.

In her contribution, Senator Oluremi Tinubu (APC, Lagos Central)
said the failure of the power sector was largely due to the refusal
of the leadership of past governments to embrace new ideas.

According to her, “Government should embrace new ideas that
would take Nigeria to the next level.”

Another lawmaker, Senator Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano North) said
uninterrupted power supply remains a fundamental requirement needed
in a modern economy.

The lawmaker, who bemoaned previous policies particularly under
the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, said the
power problems of the country remain the same despite their
introduction.

He, therefore, called on the Federal Government to engage all
stakeholders in the power sector with a view to coming up with
workable solutions to Nigeria’s power crisis.

“We need to bring experts together to look at the power sector
as a whole in a bid to realising these targets. Our companies are
now being moved to Ghana, this is because of power.

“The Committee on Power should get everybody together.
Government cannot do it alone. Let’s bring everybody together so we
can find a lasting solution to this problem,” Barau stressed.

Senator representing Cross River South, Gershom Bassey, said
what Nigeria needs to resolve its power problem is to develop the
country’s transmission infrastructure.

According to him, Nigeria’s transmission infrastructure
currently lacks the capacity to withstand an increase to power
generation.

The lawmaker however advised the Federal Government to build on
existing policy frameworks inherited from past administrations.

Accordingly, the Senate urged the Federal Government to upgrade
the transmission infrastructure of Nigeria’s power grid for a more
efficient transmission of power.

While advocating for 100,000 megawatts installed capacity to
match the size of Nigeria’s economy and population, the upper
chamber urged the Federal Government to break-up the country’s
power distribution companies into smaller, more manageable
distribution companies for optimal performance.

Signed:

Ezrel Tabiowo
Special Assistant (Press)
to the President of the Senate