By Adedapo Adesanya

The Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, said power generation in the country increased by about 30 per cent in 2024, but missed crucial targets in the review year.

Mr Adelabu made the disclosure during his ministry’s 2025 budget defence before the Senate Committee on Power at the National Assembly complex on Monday.

He said that when he assumed the leadership of the ministry in 2023, he met an average of 4,100 megawatts of power generation.

“I can tell you authoritatively that by the end of 2024, we had a peak generation of 5,528 megawatts of power from 4,100 megawatts that we met on ground and the reason for this is not far-fetched. We added a new hydroelectric power dam, Zungeru, with 700 megawatts.

“There was also a tremendous increase in the generation lines by other existing generation companies,” he said.

The Minister said that the target for power generation was 6,000 megawatts, adding, however, that due to the challenges experienced toward the end of 2024 in terms of grid collapses, the ministry missed the target by a minimal margin.

He further said that apart from energy access expansion, the sector had plans to stabilise the grid and other transmission infrastructure.

“I’m happy to also inform you that out of the eight collapses of the national grid that we experienced during 2024, five were full collapses, while three were partial collapses.

“Out of the five full collapses, three were actually due to generation problems. So, as against the 12 collapse that were publicised, it was just about eight collapses.

“We have been trying very hard to ensure that we manage the grid that was inherited.

“Unfortunately, it is still very old. It is dilapidated. And we are just managing it until we are able to fix it permanently.

“This is the focus of the Presidential Power Initiative, to ensure that the entire grid is revamped so that we won’t be having all this vandalism.

“So these are the summaries of our activities. And we are proud to say that we almost met all our targets for 2024.

“Our hope is that 2025 will be a better year for us, and we will be able to address all the existing issues in the sector,” he said.

By Dipo Olowookere

The governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has refuted claims that he was involved in the removal of Mr Mudashiru Obasa as the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

Mr Obasa was impeached on Monday after being on the seat since 2015 by 32 of the 40-member state parliament for alleged gross misconduct.

The action was carried out while the Speaker was away in the United States, with Mrs Mojisola Meranda elected as his replacement, becoming the first female to occupy the position.

It happened a few weeks after Mr Obasa said during the presentation of the 2025 budget by Mr Sanwo-Olu that he was qualified to be the governor of the state and even better than those who have occupied the position.

This statement by the former Speaker was seen as an affront on the previous governors of the state, including President Bola Tinubu, who governed Lagos between 1999 and 2007.

It has been speculated that Mr Obasa kept Governor Sanwo-Olu waiting for long during the budget presentation last month. It was claimed that this action infuriated the governor and leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Yesterday, members of the parliament in Lagos said they had had enough of Mr Obasa, moving to remove him from office.

As this happened, there were claims that Mr Sanwo-Olu instigated members of the Lagos State House of Assembly to impeach the former Speaker.

But the governor, through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Gboyega Akosile, distanced himself from the impeachment, emphasising that it was purely a decision of the legislative arm of government.

“This is a legislative matter, and the Assembly handled it as they saw fit. The governor has no involvement,” Mr Akosile, who once served as the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) of Mr Sanwo-Olu, said in an interview, noting that his principal does not interfere in the other arms of government.

By Bon Peters

More congratulatory messages have continued to pour in for Mr John Azuta Mbata on his emergence as the President of the Ohaneze Ndigbo.

Last week, the Rivers State-born man was elected as the successor to Mr Nze Ozichukwu Chukwu, who took charge of the organisation after the demise of Mr Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu last year at the age of 82.

In a statement, the Igbo World Assembly (IWA) said it was happy for Mr Mbata for emerging as the new leader of the prominent Igbo socio-cultural group.

In the statement jointly signed by its chairman, Mr Nwachukwu Anakwenze; the vice chairman, Mr Christian Onuorah; and the general secretary, Mr Oliver Nwankwor; the group commended Mr Chukwu and his team for weathering the storm within the 27 days to ensure the smooth democratic transition to the new executives.

“The election offers a renewed opportunity to address key challenges, and IWA is optimistic that this new leadership will apply statesmanship and diplomacy to achieve unity, peace, greater collaboration, due process, development and progress.

“The Igbo World Assembly has always been and will remain a core backbone of Ohanaeze Ndigbo and will support in Actualization of Igbo Agenda,” the statement said.

“Above all, your distinct desire to unify and restore Ndi Igbo towards the part of peace, progress and growth shall be the guide to our actions as Igbo Diasporas worldwide,” it added.

On the goals of the organization, the statement emphasised that IWA’s goal was clear, “Ndi-Igbo must speak with one voice and one accord; we must seek to do and be done equitably, by all means expedient or warranted; we must wage struggles as necessary; we must conclude peace as always necessary; we must establish and prosper our economies; we must promote our welfare; we must tell our stories; and we must celebrate our culture and history.”

On finding a lasting peace for the socio-cultural organization, IWA strongly pleaded with other notable persons in Rivers State to sheath their swords and bury their differences and stand behind Mr Mbata for Igbo unity.