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Anambra Guber: PDP Group Endorses John Emeka as Its Candidate

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PDP anambra election

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

With less than two days to the PDP governorship primary election in Anambra State, the national leadership of the PDP Prayer Network has endorsed Prince John Okechukwu Emeka as its candidate for this Saturday’s election.

A statement issued by National Coordinator of the group, Mr Emmanuel Chukwu, explained that, “Our decision to endorse and mobilise supports for Prince John Emeka stemmed from the fact that he is the only person among the aspirants contesting for PDP governorship ticket for Anambra State that showed genuine concern and support to our move in seeking the face of God to end the internal crisis that threatened the existence of our great party.

“When our team visited the fair-weather members of the party who are now aspirants to solicit their support for our National Day of Prayer in February this year, they all told our team that PDP was dead and buried thinking that peace can never return to the party again.”

Mr Chukwu noted that, “Prince John Emeka is the only PDP aspirant from Anambra State that supported our members who went to the Holy Land of Jerusalem and Mecca to pray to God to end the crisis in our party and to reposition it for victory ahead of the 2019 Presidential race.

“Therefore, we are surprised to see people who did not contribute anything for the growth of the party to come and reap from where they did not sow. This is against the law of nature which says, man must reap from what he sow.

“However, it is a nationwide fact that on February 26 this year, we declared a national day of fasting and prayer for the party since all man-made solutions has failed to end the crisis.

“Because these aspirants never believed that PDP will one day return to glory let alone contributing anything towards the growth of the party both at the state and at the national level, we are asking them to withdraw and support Prince John Emeka who has what it takes to win Anambra State for the PDP ahead of the 2019 general elections.”

“We are also asking the National Working Committee members of our great party headed by our great leader, Senator Ahmed Makarfi who is the immediate beneficiary of our spiritual endeavour and services to use the power given to him by our party’s constitution to adopt Prince John Emeka as PDP Consensus candidate for Anambra State so that other party members would learn how to support the party in times of crisis,” he said.

Mr Chukwu explained that, “This will also serve as deterrent to other no-supportive members that if they contributed nothing to the party in moments of crisis, then they should expect no dividends in times of peace.

“We also call on our members in Anambra State and other loyal party faithful as well as delegates to vote for Prince John Emeka on Saturday; should these aspirants refuse to withdraw from the race.

“Our position is not a witch-hunt, but an act that will support the party’s quest for supremacy above members as well as rebuilding and repositioning it for victory in 2019 general elections.”

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

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PenCom Recovers N4.57bn Pension Funds from 138 Defaulting Employers

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Pension Fund Operators

By Adedapo Adesanya

About N4.57 billion in pension funds have been recovered from defaulting employers between the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025 by the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

This information was revealed by the chief executive of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Mr Oguche Agudah, who said the amount comprised N2.12 billion in outstanding pension contributions and N2.45 billion in penalties.

According to him, these were recovered by an enforcement team of PenCom from 138 employers found to have defaulted in remitting workers’ pension funds.

“This is evidence that enforcement continues to safeguard workers’ retirement savings. The pattern also highlights what is next, which is a move from episodic crackdowns to durable prevention by tightening real-time remittance monitoring, escalating sanctions for chronic defaulters, and deepening employer education to reduce repeat offenses.

“The goal is not just big recovery headlines, it is fewer defaults, faster remittances, and a stronger, more predictable Contributory Pension Scheme.

“It is vital that workers know their rights. All employers engaging three or more staff are required by law to remit pensions on behalf of their employees.

“There are whistle blowing mechanisms for employees whose organisations do not comply,” he said, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday.

According to Mr Agudah, a breakdown of the enforcement exercise which led to these recoveries, revealed that the highest recovery was recorded in the first quarter of 2024, when N751.51 million in contributions and N1.44 billion in penalties were recouped.

He noted that although recoveries dipped in the middle of 2024, activities picked up in the fourth quarter and rebounded strongly in the first quarter of 2025, adding that during the period, the commission recovered N972.12 million in contributions and N381.88 million in penalties from 19 employers.

He explained that while the first quarter of 2025 was not the highest in overall recovery, it posted the strongest principal contribution of the five-quarter period, with an average recovery of N71 million per employer compared with about N63 million in the same quarter of 2024, noting that the trend showed it was tackling larger and more material cases, even as the number of defaulting employers declined.

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Nigeria Imports 1,721 MW of Solar Panels in 12 Months

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electricity supply to large customers

By Adedapo Adesanya

Between June 2024 and June 2025, Nigeria overtook Egypt to become the second-largest importer of solar panels in Africa, with 1,721 MW of solar panel imports, according to a new analysis of China’s solar panel exports data from energy think tank, Ember.

The firm said solar panel imports into Africa rose by 60 per cent in the 12 months to June 2025, reaching 15,032 MW from the 9,379 MW imported in the preceding 12 months. This shows the rise happening across Africa is at a scale to impact the electricity systems of many countries.

Recall the the federal government mulled the ban on solar panel imports to buoy local production, but that has not materialised so far.

The last time imports surged was in 2023, when South Africa’s solar imports picked up as the power crisis hit its peak. However, this time is different as much of the pick-up in the last 12 months happened outside of South Africa.

The data showed that Nigeria and 20 countries set a new record for the imports of solar panels in the 12 months to June 2025, while 25 countries imported at least 100 MW, up from 15 countries 12 months before.

While South Africa remained topped and Nigeria followed, Algeria ranked third with 1,199 MW.

Some countries recorded very high growth rates. Algeria’s imports rose 33-fold, Zambia eightfold, Botswana sevenfold, and Sudan sixfold, while Liberia, DRC, Benin, Angola and Ethiopia all more than tripled their imports.

The analysis finds that recent imports could make a major contribution to electricity generation in many African countries. If fully installed, imports in Sierra Leone in the last 12 months could generate electricity equivalent to 61 per cent of reported electricity generation in 2023, while in Chad the figure is 49 per cent. Liberia, Somalia, Eritrea, Togo and Benin could see generation rise by more than 10 per cent of reported 2023 generation. In total, 16 countries could see an increase of over 5 per cent.

The report describes how solar panel imports may actually reduce overall imports. The savings from avoiding diesel can repay the cost of a solar panel within six months in Nigeria, and even less in other countries. In nine of the top ten solar panel importers, the import value of refined petroleum eclipses the import value of solar panels by a factor of between 30 to 107.

Speaking on the data, Mr Muhammad Mustafa Amjad, Program Director at Renewables First, noted this surge is still in its early days and drawing a parallel of Pakistan’ s solar boom in the last two years, said it is important to have data.

“Bottom-up energy transitions fueled by cheap solar are no longer a choice – they’re our future. Tracking these additions is what makes the difference between a messy shift and an organised, accelerated one,” said  “When you don’t track, you lose time and opportunities. Pakistan’s experience shows this clearly. Africa’s transition will happen regardless, but with timely data it can be more equitable, planned and inclusive.”

On his part, Mr Dave Jones, Chief Analyst at Ember, said, “The take-off of solar in Africa is a pivotal moment. This report is a call to action, urging stronger research, analysis and reporting on solar’s rise to ensure the world’s cheapest electricity source fulfils its vast potential to transform the African continent.”

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International Syndicates Stealing Crude Oil in Africa—Ojulari

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crude oil supply disruption

By Adedapo Adesanya

The chief executive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr Bashir Ojulari, has accused specialised international and continental gangs of stealing crude in Nigeria, as well as in Africa.

Mr Ojulari stated this at the opening of the Africa Chief of Defence Staff Conference held in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, on Monday.

He said crude oil theft has continental and international dimensions and should be tackled holistically through collaboration and synergy among various military formations across Africa.

“Crude theft and its attendant illegal activities are by no means a purely localised occurrence; rather, these operations involve specialised international syndicates that take advantage of gaps within the state, national and continental security architecture to conduct illegal activities,” he said.

The national oil company’s helmsman declared that crude theft and pipeline vandalism, especially within the oil-rich Niger Delta area of Nigeria, have become old occurrences because of the efforts of security agencies.

“Security forms a key pillar of the energy business and therefore plays a very important and strategic role in achieving national, regional and continental energy security goals,” he said.

Mr Ojulari noted that the little efforts that has been carried out have been nearing fruits.

“We have seen the benefit of the collaboration within the energy space, with significant improvement in our operating environment.

“The dilapidating impact of crude theft, low pipeline availability and attacks are issues that have become stories of the past for us.

“These have come from the immense and intentional efforts of our government agencies across the nation and, in particular, within the Niger Delta.

“Today, I can proudly report to you all that our pipelines and terminals’ receipt of crude oil, which was somewhere as low as 20 per cent to 30 per cent, we are attaining close to 100 per cent due to the support of the security forces and the intelligence agencies,” he added.

Mr Ojulari said continental forums such as the gathering should be encouraged to strengthen strategic activities within the continent.

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