General
Again, Wife Pleads for Tigran Gambaryan’s Release
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Mrs Yuki Gambaryan, the wife of the detained executive of Binance Holdings Limited, Mr Tigran Gambaryan, has again appealed to the Nigerian government to release her husband from custody after over a month.
In an open letter obtained by Business Post, she described her “innocent husband” as “an incredible father, loving husband, and supportive friend,” who is “merely an employee” of the cryptocurrency exchange platform the local authorities have an issue with.
The federal government accused Binance of manipulating the country’s currency, the Naira, saying this was why it was performing badly against the US Dollar in the currency market.
The government also accused the firm of evading taxes, dragging Binance and Mr Gambaryan before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday on a five-count charge bordering on tax evasion, currency speculation and money laundering to the tune of $34.4 million.
In the open letter, Mrs Gambaryan begged the government to free her man so he could return to his family in the United States, where he flew into Nigeria from on February 26, 2024, when he was detained.
My name is Yuki Gambaryan, and I am pleading with you from the bottom of my heart as the wife of Tigran Gambaryan to please allow my innocent husband to come home.
Tigran is first and foremost an incredible father, loving husband, and supportive friend to everyone who meets him. He has a deep respect for Nigeria and its people, and in fact, he had expressed excitement to me at the prospect of starting to work in your country.
I understand and respect your decision to scrutinize his employer, Binance. I realize that this whole situation has arisen from your commitment to your country and its citizens. However, Tigran is merely an employee.
He does not have authority over Binance’s corporate decisions or policies that might have impacted Nigeria. He spends his workday investigating and pursuing criminal activity on the platform. His very job is to help governments, like yours, prosecute and prevent illicit activity.
Sadly, any influence he might have had at Binance to help the company leaders understand your position in this disagreement is trapped in that cell with him.
Tigran is globally recognized for his significant contributions in solving crimes involving cryptocurrencies. I know many of his peers, including in Nigeria, would say that Tigran’s continuous efforts not only decrease illicit activity on Binance’s platform but for all cryptocurrencies across the world.
Tigran and I have two young children. This is the longest their Dad has ever been away from them, and they don’t understand why he hasn’t come home to them. They ask me every day when he will be coming home, and still, I cannot give them an answer. This week is going to be especially difficult as it is our youngest’s 5th birthday on Friday. I never imagined Tigran would not be here with us to celebrate it.
Meanwhile, his ageing mother spends her days in tears, praying for the safe return of her only son. She raised Tigran almost all on her own. He is her everything, the thought of him being in a country so far away from her and in these circumstances is beyond devastating to her.
A small part of me chips away every day without Tigran by my side. He is the love of my life, and I cannot imagine a life without him. I plead with you from the depths of my heart to release Tigran. Please let our children see their father. Your act of mercy would be eternally appreciated, the open letter read.
By Dipo Olowookere
A $15 million debt facility has been obtained by Watt Renewable Corporation from the AfriGreen Debt Impact Fund to finance hybrid solar power plants to be built and operated by the former, especially in Nigeria.
WATT intends to use the projects to serve commercial and industrial clients in Nigeria, particularly in the telecommunication and financial services sectors.
By integrating solar hybrid solutions, the firm aims to significantly reduce diesel consumption and CO2 emissions, enabling its clients to achieve substantial energy cost savings while promoting environmental sustainability.
As a pioneer in renewable energy solutions, WATT continues to drive innovation in Nigeria’s energy sector.
The company’s robust roll-out plan includes deploying hundreds of hybrid solar power sites nationwide to meet the growing energy demands of commercial & industrial clients.
This strategic expansion aligns with WATT’s vision to revolutionize energy access across Africa, enabling sustainable development and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The funds from AfriGreen provide the critical capital needed to accelerate WATT’s ambitious projects, strengthening its market position and empowering businesses with reliable and affordable energy solutions.
Business Post gathered that to mitigate the currency risk for WATT in the event of devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, AfriGreen is offering a local currency facility that matches the payment structure of the power purchase agreements.
“We are thrilled to partner with AFRIGREEN on this transformative journey to expand reliable and sustainable energy solutions across Africa.
“With this support, it enables us to accelerate our shared mission of providing hybrid solar power to businesses, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting economic growth while enhancing energy security for our clients,” the Managing Director of WATT, Mr Oluwole Eweje, said.
“We are delighted to support WATT in rolling out hundreds of hybrid sites across the country.
“This represents another key transaction for AFRIGREEN in Nigeria. The combination of high energy prices, good solar irradiation, and strong demand from industrial and commercial energy users makes this market particularly attractive for companies like WATT.
“By leveraging these favourable market conditions alongside WATT’s exceptional operational performance and a well-structured financing solution, we are setting the stage for a strong and lasting business partnership,” the Managing Director of AfriGreen, Mr Alexandre Gilles, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has denied issuing a directive that gas supply to power generating companies (GenCos) be halted.
In a statement on Wednesday, the authority also denied instructing wholesale gas suppliers to stop further supply of gas to companies due to failure in payment obligations.
The NMDPRA described reports stating that it has directed the stoppage of gas supply to GenCos over N2 trillion debt as “false and completely unfounded”.
“It has absolutely no bearing on the information shared at a recent stakeholders’ engagement held in Lagos between the Authority, the OPTS, IPPG and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry,” the NMDPRA said.
“The purpose of the engagement was to sensitise stakeholders on the requirements, opportunities and benefits associated with the implementation of the wholesale supply license as provided by sections 142 and 197 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
“It was a follow-up to an earlier stakeholder engagement held at the NMDPRA corporate headquarters in Abuja on November 27, 2024.
“The Authority wishes to reassure all our stakeholders and indeed the general public that at no time was the false statement made at that event and anywhere else, and are advised to completely disregard the publication as every effort is being made to ensure that the supply and distribution of natural gas and petroleum products to end users is seamless and unabated as we head into the festive season and indeed all through the coming year 2025.”
Recall that Nigeria’s national grid experienced another collapse on Wednesday, the 11th time in 2024 as Gencos couldn’t generate enough power, compounding issues facing the Nigerian power sector.
This was the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shutdown in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria is currently experience a cut in power supply after the national grid collapsed for the 11th time in 2024.
This is the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shut down in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
However, just when Nigerians were thinking they will not witnessed another national grid collapse in the year, it issue reared its ugly head again.
On Wednesday afternoon, most of the energy distribution companies suffered power outage, prompting them to inform their customers of the situation.
One of the DisCos, Ikeja Electric Plc, in a message to electricity consumers under its franchise area, said, “Please be informed that we experienced a system outage today, December 11, 2024, at about 13:32 hours affecting supply within our network.
“Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders. Kindly bear with us.”
Recall that on Tuesday, in a report, Google listed national grid as one of the top trending searches by Nigerians this year.
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