General
NEMA, Nigerian Air Force to Help Flood Victims
By Adedapo Adesanya
As Nigeria enters full rainy season mode, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and the Nigerian Air Force have strengthened existing partnerships between them in the areas of disaster management.
This was the crux of the Director General (NEMA), Mr Mustapha Habib Ahmed’s visit to the Chief of Air Staff at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) headquarters in Abuja.
The NEMA DG, who led a team of some directors of the agency, including the Director of Relief and Rehabilitation, Mr Alhassan Nuhu; the Director of Disaster Risk Reduction, Mr Daniel Obot; the Special Assistant to the DG, Mr Idris Abubakar Mohammed; and the Deputy Director of Operations, Mr Bashir Idris Garga, was received by the new Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Bala Abubakar, along with some his management team.
In his remarks, Mr Ahmed said it has become necessary to strengthen the existing relationship between NEMA and NAF, especially in view of the increasing occurrence of disasters, including the forecast of floods that may affect some parts of the country this year.
“With the current increasing level of severity of disasters in Nigeria and across the world, it has become necessary for NEMA to strengthen its partnership with the Nigerian Air Force to save lives in times of emergency and to promote Disaster Risk Reduction,” he said.
He reviewed the present situation of the rainy season and noted that it has started to confirm the predicted flood, which has started to wreak havoc in some states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“The time has come when NEMA will require the support of the Nigerian Air Force in the areas of search and rescue and transportation of personnel, equipment and other life-saving relief items,” he said.
Reaffirming confidence in the existing partnership between the two organizations, he noted that, “NEMA and the Nigerian Air Force have conducted a series of real-life simulation exercises to test the level of preparedness of emergency responders and develop a common language of communication to foster a better understanding of life-saving roles and responsibilities of frontline actors in times of emergency.”
He restated that NEMA will always count on the support of the Nigerian Air Force as a critical partner, especially in the areas of search and rescue operations, medical evacuation and the airdrop of relief materials to inaccessible locations during sudden onset disasters and emergencies.
Responding, the Chief of Airforce Air Vice Marshal Hassan Bala Abubakar assured that the Nigerian Air Force will continue to discharge its responsibilities in the areas of providing support to civil authorities whenever required.
He recalled the participation of NEMA and the Nigerian Air Force in some past joint simulation training exercises on emergency response and announced that NAF will avail its 22 Disaster Response Units located across the country for deployment to support disaster management activities of NEMA in furtherance to the existing collaboration between the two organizations.
He, therefore, assured the sustenance and further strengthening of the existing partnership between the Nigerian Air Force and NEMA.
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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