General
CNPP Begs Parliament to Make Presidential, Governorship Debates Mandatory
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The National Assembly (NASS) has been urged to make presidential and governorship debates mandatory.
This appeal was made by the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP). The group stressed that debates would deepen democracy in the country.
The association made this call to the parliament on the heels of the controversy surrounding the ongoing presidential debates in Nigeria ahead of the 2023 general elections.
CNPP wants the arm of government to take steps to enact a law to make participation in presidential and governorship debates a mandatory part of the Nigerian electoral process.
In a statement signed by its Secretary General, Mr Willy Ezugwu, the group recalled that “in the history of election debates in the country, it is either that some candidates deliberately refused to attend the debates or they were excluded by the organisers based on their prejudices.”
According to the CNPP, “legalising the presidential and governorship debates will go a long way in helping the electorates to make informed decisions on the choice of the Chief Executive Officer of a state or the Federal Republic of Nigeria or even the choice of a lawmaker to represent his or her constituency.”
The CNPP added that “In advanced democracies, like the United States, where Nigeria borrowed her presidential system from, candidate debates are not constitutionally mandated, but they are considered an intrinsic part of the American electoral process such that no serious contender in the United States presidential race can afford to stay away from any scheduled candidates’ debates.
“While Nigeria has been holding presidential and governorship debates, they have been everything but organised and mandatory for candidates to appear.
“In Nigeria, media organisations and nongovernmental bodies have attempted to set up platforms for presidential and governorship debates, but participation remained at the discretion of the candidates or that of the organisers.
“So, over the years, organisers selected preferred candidates they considered to be top contenders and unjustly excluded the rest of the contestants, thereby failing to provide a level playing field for all candidates to participate.
“The CNPP believes that in order for election debates by candidates to achieve the intended purposes, there is a need to make governorship and presidential debates mandatory for all candidates and their political parties to participate.
“Candidates debates should be consciously made a veritable platform for the general public to screen persons seeking to represent them at any level in government through elections and as an avenue to increase political participation in the country.
“The CNPP, therefore, calls on the National Assembly to immediately set up modalities for making it customary for the candidates to engage in a debate as part of Nigeria’s electioneering process, especially at the presidential and governorship levels in the first instance.
“This can be achieved by enacting a law for the establishment of a National Commission on Election Debates (CED), with a mandate to organise debates for candidates in Nigeria.
“The commission should be empowered to appropriately sanction candidates that fail to participate, including imposing severe penalties in fines, among others.
“If it takes Nigeria a constitution amendment to achieve this, it will be a legacy achievement worth leaving by any administration as the overall gains of establishing such a Commission for the purposes of developing and deepening the Nigerian democracy cannot be quantified in monetary terms.
“Mandatory candidate debates will, therefore, serve as an enlightenment platform and an avenue for engagement of candidates, giving the electorates the opportunity to interface with their would-be leaders for a proper assessment to determine their levels of preparedness for leadership, their commitment to good governance and their readiness to be held accountable by the electorates after winning elections,” the CNPP stated.
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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