General
Ikoyigate Whistleblower to Receive Reward This Month—Adeosun
By Dipo Olowookere
Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, disclosed on Sunday night that the provider of information which led to the recovering of $43 million stashed at flat 7b of Osborne Towers in Ikoyi part of Lagos State would be rewarded before the end of this month.
Last week, Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu, was quoted in a statement issued by the agency’s spokesman, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, that the whistleblower had been officially compensated and was now a millionaire, who was being coached on how to properly invest the money.
But counsel to the whistleblower, Mr Yakubu Galadima, said on Friday that his client was yet to be rewarded by the EFCC as claimed by Mr Magu.
The lawyer said efforts to get the attention of the anti-money laundering agency to compensate the whistleblower had been futile.
Earlier in April this year, operatives of the anti-graft agency broke into a four-bedroom apartment on Osborne Towers, and pulled out $43 million, £27,800 and N23 million stashed in a wardrobe.
In June, a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos ordered the final forfeiture of the money to the Federal Government.
“We are currently working on the young man because this is just a man who has not seen N1 million of his own before.
“So, he is under counselling on how to make good use of the money and also the security implication.
“We don’t want anything bad to happen to him after taking delivery of his entitlement. He is a national pride,” Mr Magu was quoted as saying in Austria at a function in the European country.
But the whistleblower’s lawyer refuted this, saying, “The truth is that this guy has not been paid a penny.
“In fact, from April till date, the guy has been living under my meagre resources, his security was just zero. I’ve had to relocate this guy from one place to another so nobody knows his whereabouts.”
But reacting to this matter on Sunday via her verified Twitter page, the Finance Minister said the whistleblower would be paid this month.
“Let me make it clear that the FG will not withhold any funds due to any whistleblower. The Whistleblower Policy has detailed procedures for processing payments. The procedures were designed to prevent abuse and legal disputes and to ensure protection of the information providers.
“These procedures include an application by the agency that recovered the funds, confirmation that there are no pending legal issues on the recovery, verification of the identity of the information provider, calculation of amount payable, and computation of relevant taxes.
“Whistleblower Payments are made in monthly batches. To date, over 20 of such persons have been paid. From available records, the payment due on the Ikoyi Apartment recovery is among those being processed in the November batch, which will be released within the current month.
“The Whistleblowing Policy remains one of the @MBuhari Administration’s successful initiatives. We’re fully committed to ensuring that all those who respond to the policy & partner with us in the recovery effort are paid in full—& most importantly have their identity protected.
“Let me reiterate that the Federal Government will not withhold any payments due to any whistleblower,” Mrs Adeosun explained.
General
Watt Renewable Secures $15m Loan for Hybrid Solar Power Plants in Nigeria
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.
General
NMDPRA Denies Restricting Gas Supply to Gencos
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.
General
Power Outage in Nigeria as National Grid Collapses
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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