General
Senate Cautions Fashola Over Comments on 2017 Budget
By Dipo Olowookere
Minister of Works, Housing and Power, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, has been warned by the Senate to “stop spreading wrong information and half-truth about the 2017 budget.”
A statement issued on Saturday by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, noted that the legislators worked to ensure equity across the country on all new and outstanding projects.
Mr Fashola was reported to have accused the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly of cutting funds appropriated for critical infrastructural projects across the country and allocating such for boreholes and other as constituency projects by the Senators.
But in the statement by Mr Abdullahi, the Senate claimed the Minister did not give members of the public full details about the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which has been on a private finance initiative from the beginning because he would prefer an arrangement that allows the Ministry to continue to award contracts and fund the project through government budgetary allocation at a time when the nation’s revenue is dwindling and at an all-time low.
Mr Abdullahi stated that the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had in 2013, approved the reconstruction, rehabilitation and expansion of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project using the Private Finance Initiative, with the Federal Government providing about 30 percent of the funding while the balance shall be provided by the private sector.
The project was on course for completion by end of 2017 when the private finance initiative was being implemented, with over 30 percent completion rate attained as at early 2015.
Mr Abdullahi further noted that in a blatant disregard for existing agreements, constituted authorities and extant laws, Mr Fashola on assumption of office got government through the Ministry to start voting money for the implementation of the project.
“Even as at last year, the 2016 Appropriation Act voted N40 billion for the project on the insistence of the Ministry and only N26 billion was released. If we had known, the rest N14 billion could have been allocated to other critical roads across the country,” he said.
“In the spirit of consensus building and effective stakeholder engagement, the leadership of the Senate met with key relevant stakeholders, including the Ministries of Works and Finance. It was agreed that we should give the Private Finance Initiative a chance to complement government’s resources in the delivery of critical infrastructure assets across the country.
“Hence, in this year’s budget, we have engaged with the government and private sector groups who have assured that they will resume funding of the project.
“So, we only provided the fund in the budget that would ensure work does not stop before the funds from the private sector start coming in.
“What we reduced from Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in the 2017 budget estimate was spread on Oyo-Ogbomoso road in the South-west, Enugu-Onitsha road in the South-east, and two other critical roads in the North-east and North-west; and this was done to achieve equity.
“The Minister should realise he is Minister for the entire country and not just that of Lagos State.
“It is our view that the Federal Government cannot fund the reconstruction and maintenance of all the 34,000 kilometres of roads under its care.
“We are looking for private funds for some of these roads, particularly those with high potentials of attracting private investors.
“These include the Enugu-Onitsha road, Kano-Abuja road and Abuja-Lokoja road. It has been our hope that the Lagos -Ibadan road would be a model for private sector funding of infrastructure in the country,” the Senate’s spokesman stated.
He added that Mr Fashola knew that Federal Government cannot fully fund this road for completion by 2019 as he is promising Nigerians.
“It’s deceit of the highest order. Just going by the last two years of funding where an average of about N30b per annum was released then the nation would have to wait for the next six years for completion of the work.
“But with Private sector Finance Initiative, this project can be completed on time because full funding will be provided and there will be more certainty,” he stated.
Mr Abdullahi noted that since government did not have enough money and/or unlimited resources to provide all the needed road infrastructure on a sustainable basis, the use of funds from the private sector to complement government’s resources would ease pressure on the annual budgetary provisions for infrastructure provision, as more money will be spent on less commercially viable roads that would not ordinarily attract private sector investment as well as other social services like education, health and human capital development.
“The Minister’s statement is in bad taste and we believe he has been quoted out of context as an experienced public servant with over 15 years of high level responsibility will not be uttering such statements.
“He should desist from spreading half-truths. When he said the National Assembly imported projects into the 2017 budget, he did not mention that these include the 26 projects which the Federal Government approved in the 2016 budget, awarded contract for them in January 2016, but totally omitted them in the 2017 budget.
“One of them is the Abuja-Kaduna road. These ones would have become abandoned projects. We reduced funds across board to make provision for these omitted projects that are of critical importance to the socio-economic development of the country in line with equity and fair play.
“Mr Fashola obviously wants the Federal Ministry of Works to have many construction projects it can award contracts for and that is why he would always oppose any attempt to allow the private sector financing initiatives through Public Private Partnerships or other levels of government to fund construction of roads under the control of the Federal Government.
“That was why he waited until he was arm-twisted on the Lagos Airport road before he allowed the Lagos State government take up the reconstruction, using private funds.
“Same thing happened to the proposal for the Apapa Wharf road, which was frustrated for over a year before the stakeholders reined in the Ministry to grudgingly approve that Dangote and Flour Mills should take over the project.
“It should also be explained that nobody introduced budgetary provisions for the sinking of boreholes and construction of clinics under the budget of the Works division of the Ministry.
“However, the Housing division would ordinarily have provision for such facilities in its estimate, so as to meet the Sustainable Development Goals as provided for by the United Nations. This is aimed at reducing slums and improve the well-being of our citizenry.
“The National Assembly already have an agreement with the Acting President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, that if for example, the Private Finance Initiative does not materialize to provide the needed funds for the completion of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, just as in other areas where government has issues with the budget, the instruments of Virement and supplementary budget can be used.
“This is as a result of our belief that it is one Government and we all share the gains of the successes and pains of the failure.
“However, with all these blackmail game and backbiting going on, they are already laying the foundation for the failure of the agreement with the Executive,” he stated.
Mr Abdullahi added that the National Assembly acted in the national interest to ensure equity and fairness is achieved in the distribution of projects and to ensure that all sections of the country have representation in the national budget as guaranteed by the Nigerian constitution.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Lagos State Government has expressed its readiness to get a brand-new Building Code next year, to achieve the high-performance standards needed to make Lagos a sustainable and Smart City.
The government’s readiness was disclosed at the Lagos State Executive Council Retreat on the Domestication of the Lagos Building Code, organised by the Office of the Special Adviser on e-GIS and Urban Development, held at Ikeja GRA on Wednesday.
Speaking during the retreat, Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu emphasised the need for more collaboration among all the ministries and agencies in the built sector, to ensure the state development in line with global best practices.
He said the motive behind the Lagos Building Code is to have a building regulation that would make Lagos much more resilient.
“We (Lagos State Government) are the first to domesticate the National Building Code, which is the creation of the Federal Government. We are not doing anything outside the vision at the sovereign and sub-sovereign levels. But what is unique about our own is the fact that all the cabinet members see the need to have an input because it would be an outcome that would affect lives and different ministries and agencies.
“So, there is a need for everybody to have a say, and at the end of the day, collectively we will resolve to have a way.
“What we are trying to do is for Lagos State to do what is obtainable internationally: have a building regulation in which we have a standard of construction in design, manner of land use occupancy, and use of building materials, which we believe would eventually improve and help with health, safety, and occupancy issues.
“It is all about building sustainably, making Lagos a lot more resilient and able to absorb shock in the future and able to stand in the comity of developed cities and city-states as we see in various parts of the world,” he said.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on eGIS and Urban Development, Mr Olajide Babatunde, stated that the Lagos Building Code is to complement the existing regulatory framework and provide a comprehensive solution to the challenges of land use, physical development, and urban planning.
Mr Babatunde said the Lagos Building Code will regulate building control, planning permission, and address the issues of setbacks; take care of the safety and sustainability of the environment; and also prevent the collapse of buildings.
“We have been working on the domestication of the National Building Code, and by next year, we are going to have our own brand-new Lagos Building Code. We have worked with professional bodies and people from academia, market women, and the public in general, and through a participatory approach, we can come out with a document that is acceptable to everyone and useful to the entire state,” he said.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Mr Olufemi Daramola, described the Lagos State Building Code initiative by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration as the next step to Green Lagos that will enable the state to plan buildings properly and ensure durable infrastructure in the state.
During the retreat, members of the Lagos State Executive Council brainstormed and advocated aggressive sensitisation for residents of the State on the Lagos Building Code before implementation.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A report released by Spotify has revealed that in 2024, Apostle Femi Lazarus was the most streamed podcast on its platform, closely followed by Motivation Daily by Motiversity.
Podcasts are one of Africa’s favourite ways to tell stories. With almost 4 billion minutes of podcast audio played in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, the continent’s appetite for this content is loud and clear.
South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya listened to the most shows this year, with South Africa contributing over 2 billion minutes. If you started playing podcasts on one device today, it would make for about 30 centuries of listening.
“The numbers don’t lie. Podcasting is here to stay because it lets creators take control of their narratives and tell these stories on their terms while bringing their community along for the journey,” the Sub-Saharan Africa Podcast Manager for Spotify, Ncebakazi Manzi, stated.
Motivational shows around issues like managing finances, relationships, personal goals and health remain popular across the three leading countries. Shows like “The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett”, “Motivation Daily by Motiversity” and “The Success Addicted Podcast” have attracted listeners who want to get their lives in order and learn from the stories of inspirational people.
Audiences in Nigeria and South Africa embrace shows about spirituality. “Christian Motivation” had one of the most shared episodes in South Africa while “Apostle Joshua Selman” maintained his popularity in Nigeria for another year. As the continent’s second-largest podcast market, Nigeria listened to 700 million minutes in 2024 and it created half of the new shows published in Sub-Saharan Africa this year.
Even though spirituality dominated Nigeria’s top charts, the continued popularity of shows like “I Said What I Said” and “The HonestBunch Podcast” tell us that listeners also want conversation-style shows. Listeners in Kenya and South Africa also showed an affinity toward these shows.
A good laugh with friends
The “ShxtsnGigs” podcast, an opinion show hosted by two best friends James and Fuhad, tapped into audiences’ hunger for conversational shows. The humorous podcast has made its way to the top charts in six of the top 10 podcast-playing African countries. In Kenya, The 97s Podcast has been inspired by this approach where funny and frank chats between hosts Trevor, Frank and Dante have led the podcast to take the number-one spot in the country for the first time.
Kenya’s broader listening data shows that relationships are a meaningful taking point. Seven of the 10 most shared episodes in the country discuss love, sex lives and dating. Julia Gaitho’s “So This Is Love” holds three out of the top five most shared podcast episodes in the country. Her interviews resonated because she draws lessons from her guest’s stories about lost lovers.
Some listeners just wanted to laugh through the pain. Ensemble shows like “Mic Cheque Podcast” and “The Sandwich Podcast” made Kenyans feel like they were hanging out with a close circle of friends. When difficult topics come up, moments of infectious laughter help lighten the mood.
Women creators like Murugi Munyi, Julia Gaitho, Sharon Machira and Lydia K.M. take this comedic approach to a new level on shows like “The Messy Inbetween” and ‘It’s Related, I Promise’. This genre contributed heavily to the country’s 400 million podcast minutes streamed in 2024.
Below are the most streamed and shared podcasts for the year;
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TOP STREAMED PODCASTS IN SOUTH AFRICA |
TOP STREAMED PODCASTS IN NIGERIA |
TOP STREAMED PODCASTS IN KENYA |
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2. Motivation Daily by Motiversity 3. Success Addicted Podcast with the voice of Earl Nightingale ; Napoleon Hill ; Jim Rohn and many more |
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TOP SHARED PODCAST EPISODES IN SOUTH AFRICA |
TOP SHARED PODCAST EPISODES IN KENYA |
TOP SHARED PODCAST EPISODES IN NIGERIA |
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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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