NEWS
Why National Electricity Grid Will Continue To Collapse – Tinubu’s Minister
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has stated that Nigerians will continue to experience national grid collapses due to the deplorable state of the country’s power infrastructure.
Speaking on Wednesday in Lagos State, Adelabu advocated for the creation of power grids in different regions or states to put an end to incessant grid collapses.
He said the national grid collapses are almost inevitable, stressing that having multiple power grids in each region and state would ensure stability.
On the Electricity Act signed by President Bola Tinubu in 2023, the Minister noted that the decentralisation of the power sector would help the plan to build grids in each region.
Adelabu said: “This Electricity Act has decentralised power. It has enabled all the subnational governments, the state government and the local government, to be able to participate in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. We all rely on a single national grid today; if there is a disturbance of the national grid, it affects all 36 states. It shouldn’t be like that. This will enable us to start moving gradually towards having regional groups and possibly having state grids.
“And each of these grids will be removed and shielded from each other. So, if there’s a problem with a particular grid, only the state where it belongs will be affected, not the entire nation. So, this is one of the impacts this Electricity Act will have.”
Speaking further, the Minister said grid collapse would be inevitable without sufficient investment in the power sector.
He pointed out that there was no grid collapse in the last four months until it happened again on Monday.
Adelabu said: “We keep talking about grid collapse. Grid collapse, grid collapse, whether it’s a total collapse, partial collapse, or slight trip-off. This is almost inevitable as it is today, given the state of our power infrastructure, the infrastructure is in deplorable conditions, so why won’t you have trip-offs? Why won’t you have collapses, either total or partial? It will continue to remain like this until we can overhaul the entire infrastructure. What we do now is to make sure that we manage it.
“In the last four months, we have not heard of any grid collapse, except two days ago when we had a partial collapse that didn’t even last two hours. So, what we work on now is how to improve our response time, to bring it up each time it collapses. There are transformers of 60 years old, and 50 years old, and you’re expecting them to perform at the optimal rate. It is not possible. That is why we need a lot of investments in this infrastructure to bring them up to speed, to bring them up to the state that can give us a grid that will not collapse again.”
NEWS
Drug Trafficking: This Is A Direct Attack On The NDLEA – HURIWA Reacts To Senator’s Corruption Allegation
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has reacted to a corruption allegation levelled against the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) by Kwara South Senator, Oyelola Yisa Ashiru.
Ashiru had claimed that the drug agency was the most corrupt and compromised government agency in Nigeria.
He alleged that there was a high rate of drug trafficking going on in the country because of the corruption within the agency.
However, HURIWA has stated that the politician’s stand could be politically motivated since he failed to back his claims with tangible and traceable evidence.
They argued that the lawmaker’s claim may be a figment of his imagination.
The Association wondered why those elected to lead and represent the people could be speaking on serious and sensitive issues without control.
Speaking on Wednesday during a press conference, the group called for an urgent investigation into the senator’s claims, insisting that the issue should not be swept under the carpet.
HURIWA said, “We find it alarming that a lawmaker would make such a ‘reckless’ and generalized allegation against one of Nigeria’s agencies (without any evidence).
“We at HURIWA suspect that the introduction of this bill is a game plan orchestrated by certain forces who are unhappy with the current NDLEA leadership’s determination to intensify the drug war.
“The NDLEA already has departments dedicated to drug awareness and rehabilitation.
“The proposal to create another agency with similar functions would only serve to weaken the NDLEA’s capacity and could be seen as a deliberate attempt to destabilize its operations.
“This bill is not just redundant; it is a direct attack on the NDLEA. The NDLEA’s public awareness programs and rehabilitation efforts are already effective, so there is no need for another agency. The only thing this bill will achieve is to divide resources and energy, ultimately weakening the fight against drug barons.”
President Bola Tinubu has expressed grieve over the death of 105 people in the petrol tanker explosion that occurred on Tuesday in Majia town, Jigawa State.
Naija News reports that Tinubu, in a statement through the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, to lead a high-level delegation to Jigawa state to console the residents.
He said the delegation, while in Jigawa, would visit the incident scene to assess the situation and visit injured persons in the hospital.
Tinubu prayed for divine comfort for the bereaved families and the peaceful repose for the souls of the departed.
He also reassured the nation that the Federal Government, in collaboration with states, is committed to the swift and comprehensive review of fuel transportation safety protocols nationwide.
The statement reads, “President Bola Tinubu has directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, to lead a Federal Government delegation to Jigawa in response to Tuesday night inferno in Majia town, which claimed over 100 lives.
“The government delegation will comprise the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar; Minister of Transportation, Senator Saidu Alkali; Corps Marshall of the Federal Roads Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr Shehu Mohammed; and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (North West), Abdullahi Tanko Yakasai.
“President Tinubu further directs that emergency aid, including medical supplies, food, and shelter, be extended to the 50 victims receiving treatment and others affected by the fire.
“The President, with a heavy heart, joins the Vice President in extending his deepest condolences to the families of the victims of this devastating incident.
“He expresses his heartfelt prayers and support to the government and people of Jigawa during this time of tragic loss and grief.
“He restates his directive to the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) to strengthen night travel measures, such as increased patrols, stricter enforcement of safety regulations, and other highway safety mechanisms.
“He said those found responsible for breaches of safety standards will be held accountable, reaffirming the government’s unwavering commitment to ensuring such incidents do not recur.”
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday, announced that the minimum wage for civil servants in the state is ₦85,000.
Sanwo-Olu spoke on Wednesday during an interview with Channels Television.
He said, “I’m glad to let you know that the minimum wage for Lagos, which we have discussed with our union, is ₦85,000 today.
“It is not a competition. I am not going to say that we are paying more than some people, it is a function of affordability and capacity.
“We know too well that when people live in Lagos, Lagos has a premium in terms of the cost of living. We are fully aware.
“We also increased our salary earlier in the year. I will want to come back in January and say that I have been able to increase the minimum wage of Lagos to ₦100,000, not because I want to make anybody look bad, but because I want my people to have a living wage.”
Naija News understands that the Federal Government early in the year had approved ₦70,000 for civil servants after negotiation with organised labour, which consists of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other affiliate unions.
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