Nelson Ugwuagbo

Following the commissioning of Geometric Power in Osisioma by President Bola Tinubu last week, media space in Abia State has been taken over by a raging verbal war between loyalists to former Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu and those of the present Governor, Alex Otti.

The subject of the media clash is the 5% stake which the aides and close allies of the former governor said was acquired by Okezie Ikpeazu in Geometrics Power, on behalf of the Abia State government.

According to the Ikpeazu’s allies, who include John Okiyi Kalu, Onyebuchi Ememanka, Enyinnaya Appolos, Chinonye Mba, and lately, Don Ubani, the Otti administration should confirm the said investment.

According to the argument produced by the Ikpeazu side, the Abia State government during the administration of the Obingwa-born former governor, acquired a 5% stake in Geometrics worth $5m with about $3.6m allegedly paid to Geometrics already, representing about 71% in payment.

The Ikpeazu side also berated the Abia State government and the Chairman of Geometrics, Professor Barth Nnaji for allegedly not crediting Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration with the roles it played in the power project while he was in charge of the State.

In their further arguments, the said investment was made with Abia people’s money and should be protected.

Apart from these, a former Commissioner for information and also former Commissioner for trade and investment in Abia State, John Okiyi Kalu, also made an allegation on his Facebook page, where he claimed that the State government awarded a 9.0km road contract that connects Abiriba to Etitiama Nkporo, even when such road had already been done and handed over to the communities by the previous administration of Okezie Ikpeazu.

He also challenged the Abia State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on recovery of government properties and funds to investigate the acclaimed Abia State government investment in Geometric.

But responding to the claims made by the Ikpeazu side, media aides to Governor Alex Otti dismissed the reported investments in Geometrics, saying that no documents about such investments were handed over to the present administration by Ikpeazu.

On the side of Governor Otti’s defence team are Ferdinand Ekeoma, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dodoh Okafor, Special Assistant to the Governor on Special Communications, among others.

Addressing the matter, Ekeoma said: “At this point, we do not have any document, any information.

“So, as long as we do not have any document, what it implies is that to the best of our knowledge, such does not exist”,

Ekeoma accused the former governor of allegedly deploying his former and serving aides to attack the present administration in the State, saying that the opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, was jealous of achievements recorded by Governor Alex Otti in the Geometric power project.

He slammed the former administration and aides to the former Governor, for allegedly engaging in “primitive propaganda and rehearsed image laundering” for their boss.

Ekeoma, who recalled how people’s property were destroyed at Port Harcourt road in Aba by the previous administration without compensation, said those who brought pain to the people cannot distract Governor Otti.

Intervening on the matter during an interview with Channels TV last week, Governor Otti said he was aware of the ongoing media arguments concerning 5% investment which the Abia State government was said to have made in the Geometric power project.

Asked to explain Okezie Ikpeazu’s roles in Geometric project, Governor Otti said, “It is difficult for me to say, but I am aware he joined the Geometric management team to South Africa sometime in 2018 or 2019 to sign a loan agreement of about $50m part of which was used to settle the dispute between Geometric and EEDC.

“But the records available to me do not show that the government guaranteed that loan. So, the loan was given at the back of the assets of Geometric.”

The Governor made it clear that he did not have any document about the 5% investment, as no such document was handed over to him.

He however said that he had directed his Commissioner for finance and the Accountant General to go through and find out if there was any truth to the acclaimed 5% equity investment in the power company, adding that Geometric was in the better position to respond specifically to the argument.

The Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions have threatened to disrupt industrial peace in universities should the government fail to release the withheld salaries of members.

The salaries were seized by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari during their strike in 2022.

The unions, in a joint letter signed on Friday by the President of SSANU, Muhammed Ibrahim and General Secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi, questioned the rationale with which the government released four months withheld salaries to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities but failed to release the withheld salaries of non-academic staff.

The unions noted that they would no longer be able to assure the government of industrial peace in universities should the amounts owed by the government are not released.

Earlier, the unions wrote protest letters to the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, on February 13, 2024, over the exclusion of the Non-Teaching staff from the payment of outstanding four months salaries.

The letter read, “We are therefore shocked that two weeks after the letters had been sent and received by the appropriate quarters, the Federal Government has remained quiet and refused to take any step towards addressing this very sensitive issue and it seems as if the Federal Government is taking our maturity for granted.

“We like to confirm through this medium once again to the Federal Government that the pressure on us has intensified and we have done everything possible within our ambit to prevail on our members to maintain industrial peace and tranquillity.

“While we appreciate the Federal Government for paying our Academic counterpart, we also deem it necessary that our members are also paid. The various feelers we are getting from our members in the universities and inter-university ventres indicate that we can no longer guarantee and be able to sustain industrial peace in the university sector.

“We therefore use this opportunity once again to call on the Federal Government to do the needful within the next seven days as the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU should not be held responsible should the wheel of administration and corporate governance be grounded to a halt in the University sector, as we have exercised enough patience.

“If nothing is done by the Federal Government to positively address this situation and respond to our previous letters to them, the members of the two Unions may be forced to meet soon to take all lawful and stringent decision on the matter.”

The British Council Nigeria has announced an increase in the prices of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for the second time in 2024.

The hike comes amidst ongoing concerns about the exchange rates of the Nigerian Naira against other foreign currencies.

An update on the Council’s website on Thursday attributed the new rates to what it described as “prevailing market dynamics.”

“The change in fees is due to the evolving market dynamics and increased costs in the delivery of our exams.”

The Council added that the new prices for the IELTS range of tests are effective from 1st of March

With the new prices adjustment, applicants willing to write IELTS computer academic and general training modules will now pay N266,000, while those opting for paper academic and general training modules are required to pay N256,500; UK visas and immigration (UKVI) applicants will pay N285,500 and IELTS life skills now costs N249,000.

The Council had only in January effected a 29 per cent increment on the price of writing the test from the initial N107,500 being paid for the test prior to last month.

The January prices had the IELTS on computer academic and general training modules set at N139,000; IELTS on paper academic and general training modules pegged at N134,000; while the UKVI was increased to N149,000, Life skills, N130,000; and one skill retake (O.S.R) at N87,570.
IELTS scores are internationally recognized English language assessments for migrants aspiring to study overseas and skilled workers applying for jobs abroad.

The Nigerian government has been at the centre of criticism over the recent weakening of the Nigeria Naira against other foreign currencies.

The wife of Abia State Governor Mrs. Priscilla Otti, has distributed 600 bags of 50kg rice, 1,000 rubber of 2.5 litres of groundnut oil, and cash to support Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in the state.

Addressing the beneficiaries at the event held in Umuahia, Mrs. Otti emphasized her commitment to supporting PWDs amid the economic challenges.

She reiterated her dedication to offering assistance and opportunities for vulnerable individuals, expressing confidence that the palliative support program will lead to positive outcomes in the future.

“I know that members of your community might not have fully benefitted from them. We are going to work assiduously to ensure that you are included in these interventions,” Mrs. Otti stated.

Mrs. Otti expressed her joy at witnessing the remarkable efforts of many members within the disabled community who have utilized their exceptional abilities to achieve self-reliance despite facing challenges.

She assured Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) of the government’s commitment to providing support and opportunities for self-sufficiency, with the goal of significantly improving their lives.

She urged philanthropists and individuals with goodwill to support the government’s efforts in enhancing the welfare of PWDs.

Speaking with journalists Mrs. Otti discussed her ongoing data collection initiative for PWDs to gather relevant information for providing tailored interventions to meet their specific needs.

She explained that this process would involve collecting details such as names and bank information to facilitate targeted support.

She said, “Also, beyond giving the palliative, these people need other forms of help that would meet their needs, especially for those that need assistance to improve their means of livelihood to be self-reliant”.

In a desperate attempt to salvage the naira, the Bola Tinubu-led federal government has slammed Binance, a fine of $10 billion in its continued crackdown on the cryptocurrency exchange platforms operating in the country.

The special adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made this know in an interview with the BBC on Friday morning.

According to the presidential aide, Binance profited substantially from its “illegal transactions” in Nigeria while the nation suffered inexplainable losses.

Details shortly…

The federal government says it has paid over $120 million to offset part of the debts owed to gas companies (GasCos) for electricity generation.

This was disclosed by Ed. Ubong, the director of the Decade of Gas Secretariat, at the ongoing 7th edition of the Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES 2024) in Abuja on Thursday.

According to him, the government is also working on a framework to curb most of the failures in the system.

He said, “The arrears gas producers are owed as of last year was about $ 1.3billion. But I am pleased that between October 2023 and the end of January, the government has paid over $120 million to offset some of that money.”

This follows the effort of the government to address the indebtedness of the country’s power sector to electricity-generating companies (GenCos) and gas companies (GasCos), as earlier announced by Adebayo Adelabu, the minister of power.

The minister noted that the total debt owed to power-generating companies was N1.3 trillion, out of which 60 percent is owed to gas suppliers.

The Transmission Company had also attributed the recent decline in power supply to a decrease in available generation into the grid due to gas constraints.

It stated that the gas constraints impacted the quantum of bulk power available on the transmission grid for onward transmission to the distribution load centres nationwide.

Ubong, however, noted that the government was working on a framework to mitigate most of that failure.

“That’s a piece of work that is ongoing and we hope that it will be approved and then the industry can move away from that legacy issue.

“We must build a gas capacity. The engineers, the technicians that will work in this new gas sector that we are looking at for the next eight months. And at the Secretariat, we are committed to that. We are looking for interns, we are looking for young people who are willing to join us and provide their time and energy to support the wider and bigger goals of the sector.

“For the first time, we now have a ministerial committee that involves the minister of state for gas and the ministry of power. Because power and gas go together, we are confident that when that becomes fully operational, that critical link between gas and power will lead to more sustainable solutions going forward,” he said.

Akachukwu Nwokedi, president, Nigerian Gas Association, said that the legacy debt owed to players in the electricity value chain was among the factors eroding investors’ confidence and investments. He stressed the need for policies to boost sector growth and attract investments.

He urged that regulation should be positioned primarily as enablers to business, especially recognising the new reality in the country.

“We, therefore, recognise that there have been steps to clear the debts and I’m happy to hear that over $120 million had already been cleared,” he added.

Residents of Aba, Abia State are celebrating 48 hours of uninterrupted power supply following the installation of the Geometric Power Plant.

Since one out of four turbines at the plant was switched on on Sunday, February 25, 2024, some sections of Aba have been enjoying uninterrupted power supply.

Chude, sharing a video of a resident celebrating the constant electricity, wrote, “Aba residents now enjoy 24/7 electricity. Aba is currently the most thriving city for living and investing in Nigeria. Governance is not rocket science.”

In the video, a lady can be heard saying in both English and Igbo, “Light choke, Aba to the world. How many days now? See as A.C everywhere just dey chill”

President Bola Tinubu on Monday launched the Geometric Power Plant in Aba, 20 years after the project was initiated by a former Minister of Power, Barth Nnaji.

The Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, said the project was as a result of the power to dream, saying with the power project in Aba, the city is now open to national and international businesses.