By Adedapo Adesanya

The United Kingdom–Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UKNIAF), established in 2019 as part of a 16-year legacy of UK-funded infrastructure support to Nigeria, convened over 100 senior stakeholders on Tuesday, December 2, to review its progress and formally close out its current phase of operations.

The event brought together representatives from federal and state governments, development partners, development finance institutions, and the private sector to reflect on UKNIAF’s work across the power, infrastructure finance, and roads sectors. Discussions focused on institutional reforms, capacity development, and the sustainability of tools and processes introduced over the past six years.

Since inception, UKNIAF has delivered targeted technical assistance designed to embed evidence-based reforms, data-driven decision-making, and improved institutional performance. Its interventions have mobilised significant financing, strengthened regulatory and planning systems, and enhanced investor readiness across multiple infrastructure markets.

In the power sector, participants highlighted landmark achievements including the development of Nigeria’s first Integrated Resource Plan, which outlines a least-cost and low-carbon pathway for expanding electricity supply. UKNIAF also supported the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in building advanced real-time data capabilities for tariff monitoring, grid management, and outage tracking. The programme enabled pioneering states to establish their own electricity markets following constitutional reforms.

In infrastructure finance, UKNIAF was recognised for strengthening project preparation systems and enabling access to capital. Notable accomplishments include supporting the mobilisation of $75 million from the African Development Bank to the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) programme in two states, and accelerating mini-grid and solar deployment through improved technical standards at the Rural Electrification Agency (REA).

UKNIAF also designed a national project preparation facility, for which N21 billion was allocated in both the 2024 and 2025 budgets to build a pipeline of bankable projects.

Speaking on this, Mr Frank Edozie, UKNIAF Team Lead, described the programme’s close-out as a “handover for sustained delivery,” emphasising that strengthened institutions now hold tools that make Nigeria’s infrastructure landscape more transparent, climate-smart, and investor-ready.

On his part, the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, commended the programme, noting that its technical assistance and advisory services had helped lay the foundation for a sustainable and inclusive electricity supply industry.

Mrs Cynthia Rowe, Head of Development Corporation at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in Nigeria, praised the partnership, highlighting achievements ranging from state-level electricity market reforms to unlocking major financing and designing Nigeria’s Climate Change Fund.

Enugu State Secretary to the State Government, Professor Chidiebere Onyia, underscored the lasting influence of the programme, stating that UKNIAF’s impact continues through the expertise and leadership transferred to national and sub-national institutions.

The close-out event reaffirmed stakeholders’ commitment to sustaining tools, reforms, and knowledge products developed under UKNIAF, while strengthening collaboration among public, private, and development actors in the infrastructure ecosystem.

Participants included federal and state agencies such as the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Federal Ministry of Power, Ministry of Finance, NERC, REA, and the Transmission Company of Nigeria, alongside development partners including the African Development Bank, World Bank, and IFC, as well as private sector and civil society stakeholders.

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The gantry price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, has been slashed by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

The Lagos-based oil facility brought down the ex-depot price of the petroleum product by 15.58 per cent or N129 per litre to N828 per litre.

Though the company had yet to release an official statement on this development, real-time market data on Petroleumprice.ng on Friday showed the new price.

Punch reports that data from the platform also showed fresh reductions across several private depots following the refinery’s latest review.

Sigmund Depot cut its ex-depot price by N4 to N824 per litre, Bulk Strategic dropped its price by N3, and TechnoOil slashed its by N15.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Minister of Power, Mr Bayo Adelabu, has accused the leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, of extortion.

In a petition to the Department for State Services (DSS), the Minister claimed the cleric attempted to extort him of N150 million for spiritual assistance.

It was reported that after ​Mr Adelabu, who intends to become the Governor of Oyo State after the tenure of the incumbent, Mr Seyi Makinde, in 2027, refused to provide funds for the purchase of music instruments the prophet told him to purchase to seek the mercy of God on him ambition because of the cost, the cleric began to make negative prophesies about him.

This, according to a report by TheCable, prompted the Minister to report the matter to the DSS.

But in a statement on Friday by his media aide, Mr Osho Oluwatosin, the man of God refuted the allegations, saying he never attempted to extort Mr Adelabu as being alleged.

Mr Ayodele explained that the Minister himself asked for the cost, and he gave him a figure, while asking him to send someone from his end to the market in order to confirm the prices of the instrument, trumpet.

He stated that aside from Mr Adelabu, two other persons, including his personal assistant, were putting pressure him because the Minister was showing serious desperation for the seat of a governor in Oyo State.

“I didn’t ask Bayo Adelabu to bring money for prayers, I told him to ask someone from his end to go to the market and find out how much the trumpet cost, while someone follows them from my end too. His personal assistant, himself, and the person he sent to me put me under so much pressure because he was desperate for governorship.”

“He was the one who sent someone to me to talk to me on his behalf. He went as far as saying he was willing to give anything to become the next governor of Oyo State, and the only thing I told him is to get the trumpets for his own good,” the prophet narrated.

Speaking further on their discussion, Primate Ayodele explained that he told Mr Adelabu that they won’t be willing to give him the governorship ticket but he can seek the mercy of God by buying the musical instrument, not necessarily for his church, which he refused, and beyond that, there was no other discussion.

“I told him that they won’t want to give him the governorship ticket, but if he wants it so bad, he should seek the mercy of God by buying the musical instruments for God, not even for my church, but he said he can’t do it, that’s all,” he disclosed further.

The Lagos-based cleric stated that for years, he had been talking about the ambition of Mr Adelabu and has maintained that it would take the grace of God for him to become the governor of Oyo State. Therefore, it couldn’t have been because the Minister refused to yield, because he had never spoken to him till he sent people to him.

“I have been talking about how he won’t be made governor of Oyo State for years; this is why he called me to seek solutions. I have never spoken to him before till he sent people to me and personally requested my spiritual help.

“I don’t make prophecies to make money, I am blessed already, and my subsequent prophecies after our discussion about his ambition aren’t because he failed to buy the musical instrument, it can never be,” he noted.