General
NIPR Fellows to Immortalise Alex Akinyele’s Legacy
Professionals in the Marketing Communications Industry on Thursday, January 23, 2020, paid their last respect to the late Alexander Opeyemi Akinyele, at the Night of Tributes organized by the Body of Fellows of the Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) in Ikeja.
At the gathering, Public Relations practitioners described the late Mr Akinyele, a former Nigeria’s Minister of Information and former President of the institute, as one of the best Public Relations professionals that the country has ever produced, and he will be greatly missed.
Vice President of NIPR, Comptroller Adewale Adeniyi, who represented the President of the institute, Mr Mukhtar Zubairu Sirajo, said, “The late Akinyele contributed immensely to the institute and plans are on the way to immortalize the departed icon. Personally, Akinyele was a great mentor and his advice have impacted my public relations career remarkably.”
Managing Director of CMC Connect Limited and President of African Public Relations Association (APRA), Mr Yomi Badejo-Okusanya, in his tribute, said, “Sir Akinyele was a peace maker and he helped unite the institute during crisis period. Often, when we are dissatisfied with happening in the management of the institute, we ask him to intervene.”
Coordinator, Body of Fellows in Lagos, Rev Abraham Olusola-Niyi, said, “Chief Alex Akinyele was a man of many parts; a consummate communication practitioner, mentor and role model to people in the trade, accomplished businessman, pacifist, national builder, passionately romantic, great father and cultural icon. He excelled in everything he touched. We are sorely going to miss him.”
“Judging by our own standards, one can say without fear that Chief Alexander Akinyele was a successful man. A man of vast tentacles, a Communicator, Public Relations Practitioner, Philanthropist, and an Industrialist of so many functional companies,” he added.
On his part, Managing Director of ADSTRAT BM, Mr Charles O’Tudor, said some of the lessons he learnt from the icon is to stick to what he believes in. He suggested that a foundation or a collection of his works be published to immortalise him.
At the event, the children, who were present, thanked the institute for paying tributes to their father and also applauded the move to immortalise him. While speaking about her father, Ms Bimbola Akinleye said she was delighted to hear all the good words about her father and thanked the institute for organising the event to honour him.
The first son of Mr Akinyele, Mr Akinrinmola Akinleye, said, “The institute has always been there at every major milestone with our father. I recall when he celebrated his 80th birthday, the Institute played a major role. Here today again, you are doing this in his death. What is even more elating is to hear beyond this, the institute is considering immortalizing his memory.”
The tribute was a gathering of all the gladiators in the public relations professions, including the doyens of the practice, Mazi Mike Okereke, Dr Rotimi Oladele, and Mrs Nkechi Ali-Balogun, Ronke George, Dr Fassy Adetokunboh Yusuf, Mr Basil Agboarumi and the media community to mention but a few who spoke greatly about the contribution of the icon to the PR practice in the country.
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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