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Power outages, costly petroleum products could lead to increased poverty — Peter Obi

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Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, says power outages and costly petroleum products could lead to increased poverty in Nigeria.

In a post on X on Sunday, Obi said the negative impact of the recurring power outages on businesses, especially small businesses, is unimaginable.

“The continued power outages in many parts of the country, particularly in the Northern and Eastern States, as well as South-South states, have remained a cause of grievous concern,” Obi said.

“It is heartbreaking to see that the affected states, majorly in the Northern parts of Nigeria, have been facing a total blackout for several days now.

“The negative impact of the continued power outage on businesses, especially small businesses, who depend primarily on public power supply to sustain their businesses as a means of livelihood, is unimaginable.

“This power crisis, when combined with the present high cost of petroleum products and a harsh operating environment, remains a lethal recipe for widespread business failure and increasing poverty in the country.”

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‘SOLVING NIGERIA’S POWER CRISIS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE’
Obi said solving Nigeria’s power and energy crisis is not rocket science.

The former Anambra governor said many comparable nations have shown that it is feasible to deliver sustainable power to their citizens.

“Our African neighbour, Egypt, for example, invested aggressively in their power sector, which resulted in the establishment of a sustainable power infrastructure by way of many power stations,” he said.

“Today, Egypt has revolutionized power and energy production in the country, providing sustainable power to millions of small businesses, which account for over 90% of active enterprises in the country and contributes to over 80 percent of their GDP.”

Obi sympathised with everyone enduring the tough challenges, urging the government to increase its efforts and provide both immediate and long-term solutions to the ongoing issue.

The national grid has collapsed eight times in 2024, with the first recorded on February 4.

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Also, on March 28, April 15, July 6, and August 5, the national grid collapsed.

Nigerians experienced another blackout on October 14October 15, and October 19.

Addressing the situation, Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power, said the frequent system failure at the national grid is inevitable due to the outdated infrastructure.

Adelabu said more investment in power infrastructure will prevent future collapses.

On October 22, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) reported a power outage in the north-east, north-west and parts of north-central after 330-kilovolt (kV) Ugwuaji–Apir double circuit transmission lines 1 and 2 tripped due to a fault.

Providing an update on October 23, Ndidi Mbah, TCN’s general manager of public affairs, said the faulty area, which measures one span, was identified as a snapped 330kv transmission line in the swampy forest of Igumale, Benue state

Mbah said the company is urgently organising the necessary materials for the repair work.

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JUST IN: NSIB locates wreckage of crashed helicopter in Port Harcourt

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The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) says its search and recovery teams have successfully located the wreckage of the ditched Sikorsky SK76 helicopter.

In a statement on Thursday, Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji, NSIB’s director of public affairs and family assistance, said the wreckage was identified during recovery dives conducted on Wednesday night.

Details later…

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Don’t Patronise Fake Oil And Gas Bodies, NUPENG Cautions

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The leadership of our Union has identified fraudulent advertisements from individuals falsely claiming to represent a dubious association of Transporters and Oil and Gas Marketers.

The association urge the public and government institutions to be vigilant against these unscrupulous figures, who seek to exploit the current economic landscape following the removal of fuel subsidies. The Union reaffirms its support for recognized associations in the industry and urges all stakeholders to reject these miscreants and their deceptive practices.

The open letter below:

The attention of the leadership of our great Union has been drawn to some advertisements on news media of some unscrupulous and dangerous individuals claiming to be members of one amorphous association they claim is both Transporters and Marketers of the Oil and Gas at the same time, and we wish to state that this association is nothing but assemblage of failed Rent Seekers in the Subsidy Regime and Irredeemable Smugglers of Petroleum Products disguising as businessmen and women.

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The general public and government institutions are hereby warned and strongly . advised to be very wary of these individuals who are desperately seeking ways and means to continue to exploit Nigerians and collecting rents in other manners since the current administration removed subsidy from petroleum products and make
smuggling unprofitable for them.

 

The leadership of our great Union recognizes National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) as the legitimate umbrella body of Transporters in the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry and Employers of Petroleum Tankers Drivers (PTD) of which our Union has Collective Bargaining Agreement with on behalf of Petroleum Tankers Drivers.

We also recognize Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN) as well as Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN) as legitimate marketers of Oil and Gas products. These are associations of Marketers that are well known and respected in the downstream sector of the Nigeria oil and gas industry.

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There is also no ambiguity in the fact that the Nigeria Labour laws only recognize Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) as the umbrella bodies
for oil and gas Workers in Nigeria. These are the two organizations that represent and protect the job interests of the Nigeria oil and gas workers including Petroleum lanker Drivers (PTD) as prescribed in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Niger
AFFILIATED TO THE NIGERIA LABOUR CONGRESS (NLC) & Industrial Global Union
Ref:
SUPPORT OUR DREAM

GAS WORKERS

We implore all well-meaning Nigerians and government officials whose names these Usurpers and Rent Seekers are dropping to urgently disregard any invitation from them and publicly denounce them because they are purely mischief-makers, names Droppers and unscrupulous business individuals that can sell their families and country for money and are unfortunately part of those that plunge the country into the current economic woes and hardship that the country is currently battling and struggling with. Following numerous failed attempts to coerce our Union into collecting money for them at various petroleum depots, they have now resorted to these names-calling and cheap blackmail to further their insidious rent-seeking schemes.

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Our Solidarity remains Constant for the Union makes us strong!!!

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Finally, Joseph Wayas, ex-senate president, to be buried November 30 — three years after his death

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November 30 has been fixed for the burial of former Senate President Joseph Wayas, who died three years ago.

 

Wayas, who served as senate president from October 1, 1979, to December 31, 1983, died on November 30, 2021, at a London hospital after a protracted illness. He was 80 years old.

 

On July 10, his remains arrived in Nigeria after several controversies that followed the repatriation of his corpse.

 

Speaking on Thursday at a press briefing in Calabar, the capital of Cross River, Dorn-Cklaimz Enamhe, secretary of the central planning committee for Wayas’ burial, thanked Bassey Otu, governor of the state, and other individuals for repatriating Wayas’ body.

 

Enamhe noted that the committee, in collaboration with other authorities in Nigeria and the Nigerian High Commission in the United Kingdom (UK), worked together to ascertain the authenticity of the body.

 

He also appreciated the media for constantly reminding the nation that the body of the former senate president was yet to be buried.

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“Unfortunately, the body has been kept this long due to issues and disagreement among members of his family,” he said.

 

“We had to wait for these issues to be resolved, and as of today, they have been resolved; that is why we are going ahead with the burial.”

 

Nsa Gil, the chief press secretary to the governor of Cross River, added that the funeral would be held at the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar and later at the deceased’s hometown in Bassang, Obanliku LGA.

 

Senate President Godswill Akpabio and many other dignitaries are expected to attend the burial.

 

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