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Group Urges Tinubu, NNPC, Others to End Gas Flaring in Ubeji Community

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Ubeji

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

President Bola Tinubu has been charged to put an end to gas flaring in Ubeji, a community in the Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State.

This call was made by a group of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and media professionals comprising the Social and Economic Justice Advocacy (SEJA), Web of Support Youth Development Program Nigeria, and Advisors Reports.Com.

In a statement on Tuesday in Lagos, the consortium also appealed to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to do everything within its power to save the inhabitants of the sleepy satellite community located around the Warri Petrochemical Company.

The Governor of Delta State, Mr Sheriff Oborevwori, was also urged to take urgent steps to the people from the choking soot which emanates from the oil facility belonging to a popular gas company in Nigeria.

The association expressed dismay that the federal government and all its relevant agencies have abandoned the Ubeji community to be suffering this protracted pollution.

“The community has been suffering from the gas flaring pollution for decades, and the entire environment and ecosystem destroyed because the flaring is an everyday action as it never goes off at all.

“A visit to the community reveals a people faced with increased socio-economic difficulties with no record of survival.

“Though the community has not vanished physically, many of the residents have been sacked by the pollution and businesses within the space destroyed. Some families were decimated and dispersed.

“Those that choose to stay back in the community have been ‘absorbed’ by the pollution. They no longer enjoy economic, social and healthy progress that flows from good governance and social cohesion. Their lives are now fraught with uncertainty.

“Without any shadow of doubt, the ongoing flaring in the community has led to large-scale pollution in ways that have forced many to flee the community,” a part of the statement said.

The group lamented that the pollution from the energy firm has negatively impacted the rights of the people to health, noting that it has disrupted and infringed on the rights to education of the children who have fled the community.

It tasked the federal and state governments, as well as the NNPC to without delay, take urgent and coordinated action aimed at resolving the ongoing pollution arising from gas flaring in the community and in other parts of the Niger Delta region.

“We also call for adequate compensation of these victims of pollution for their losses.

“This must be done not for political reason(s) but for the survival of our people and democracy,” the disclosure declared.

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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Watt Renewable Secures $15m Loan for Hybrid Solar Power Plants in Nigeria

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Oluwole Eweje WATT Renewable Corporation

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.

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NMDPRA Denies Restricting Gas Supply to Gencos

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ANOH Gas Plant

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.

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Power Outage in Nigeria as National Grid Collapses

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national grid collapse

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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