Energy
Nigeria’s Next President Must Be Brave About Power Sector – CEO, Century Power
By Edozie Obasi-Eze
The crisis-ridden power sector in Nigeria can be easily solved, only if the incoming administration would give the sector the kind of attention it deserves.
Chief Executive Officer, Century Power Generation Limited, Dr Chukwueloka Umeh, expressed the opinion at an online interactive session with media men.
According to him, the next administration, in Nigeria must from its first day in office declare a national emergency on the power sector.
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Dr Umeh who also serves as an Executive Director of Nestoil Ltd as well as the CEO of Nesto Aviation Services Ltd., warned that the current problems in the sector would continue, or even get compounded, if the next government fails to deploy professionals to head the ministry of power and its agencies.
He observed that Nigeria’s power sector was beset with weak infrastructure, illiquidity as well as the issue of square pegs in round holes, leaving the country with over 200 million persons with just a meagre 4,000mw.
The former General Electric Company official noted with concern that while Egypt for example, with about half of Nigeria’s population is producing 57,000mw, while Nigeria continues to struggle to produce 4,000 megawatts. He described the situation as embarrassing and criminal.
In his words, “We should all hide our heads in shame as a country. Some years ago, Nigeria produced 5000mw and everybody was celebrating. I was like have these people lost their minds?”
Dr Umeh made it clear that whoever becomes the next Nigerian president must understand the critical importance of the sector, cut bureaucracy and free the sector from undue government interference, except in a regulatory role.
“It is my hope that whoever is the next president will understand that they need to do something drastically different. They need to be brave. They need to show political bravery and do the right thing.
“They need to remove government handouts from the industry and just have government as a regulator. The administration needs to make sure that the person in charge of the power industry is somebody that understands the industry.
“We don’t want just an administrator. We need somebody that clearly understands the industry, somebody like Prof Barth Nnaji who was the minister of power under Goodluck Jonathan; who is a player in the industry.
“He understood the industry well, and he had the motivation to make it work. So we need somebody like that running the industry. Whoever is the president next year, needs to treat this industry as an emergency. Which means they need to remove all the red tapes stopping things being done quickly,” he added.
According to the Aerospace Engineer, Nigeria should go beyond mere consultations, committees and conferences to the execution of the blueprint to revamp the sector.
“We need to quickly remove the government’s fingers from every part of the sector: Generation, transmission and distribution, and have those people who are not doing well either removed or they are set clear timelines for to fix the problem.
“The next administration needs to reduce the regulations that are barring new entrants from coming into the industry,” he added.
According to Dr Umeh, the Century Power Generation Limited has for years been pursuing a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company Limited (NBET) without success despite the ready international funding for its project in the country.
“I can tell you today. We have spent about a year or more trying to get approval to move gas on the existing pipeline. It is one meeting after the other. This thing should take about two weeks to do. It is taking over a year and we go to meetings, you speak English, you generate minutes of meetings and reschedule for another one, just talking and wasting resources.
“So these things need to be made very quick. Remove all the red tape and allow us to do proper business. I tell people it is not rocket science, but even if it is rocket science, we have rocket scientists,” he maintained.
He pointed out that presently, “there are a lot of people in the industry who have no business being in the power industry because they don’t understand the sector.
“There are a lot of supposed experts that when you speak to them for five minutes, it becomes clear that they don’t really know much about the industry.”
In the short term, he disclosed that Century Power would keep pushing to have a power purchase agreement signed and executed by the government, while working on utility scale plants that may not be as large as the 1,500mw Okija power plant owned by the company.
“They are not quite as large as Okija plant. Just about 20 to 100 megawatts to supply directly industrial clusters and Discos, this is what we’ve been working on doing and to make it in such a way that it will be economically viable to us and to the off-takers,” he explained.
MRS Oil Nigeria Plc, a prominent player in the Nigerian downstream oil industry, has implemented a new petrol price of N935 per litre across all its retail service stations nationwide.
The company has also called on Nigerians to monitor and report any outlets that fail to adhere to the new price structure.
Biztellers reports that this is consequent upon an announcement by the President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has partnered with MRS Oil and Gas to offer petrol at N935 per litre at retail outlets, following a reduction in the ex-depot price from N970 to N899.50 per litre.
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It was gathered that MRS Oil Nigeria Plc has instructed all its outlets to implement the new price immediately, setting up a digital platform and monitoring team to ensure full compliance.
In a statement on Monday night, the company declared, “Petrol is now being sold at N935 at MRS Filling Stations nationwide. If you find any station not following this price, please report it. Call 08009447853 or email: NG-FMKPMGWHISTLEBLOWING@NG.KPMG.COM”
Emphasising the eco-friendly nature of its products, MRS Oil added, “We call on all petrol station owners to join MRS Oil Nigeria Plc in improving the supply chain of our beloved country, ensuring product quality and availability in every corner of Nigeria for the benefit of all Nigerians.”
In Lagos, commuters were seen queuing at MRS filling stations to purchase petrol, with many expressing their gratitude to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and MRS Oil and Gas, urging other marketers to support the indigenous refinery rather than import off-spec products into the country.
A commuter at the MRS station at Alapere on the Lagos Ibadan Express way, Ibukun Phillips, could not hide her joy as her husband filled up their car.
“I am very happy today. This is a victory for Nigeria,” she said. “The price reduction is the best gift of the season. But beyond just the reduction, we are buying standard, eco-friendly petrol at a lower rate. My husband and I have decided we will only be using MRS from now on because we are confident in the quality of the product and supporting the economy.”
A commercial bus driver, Adio Ajibade described the price reduction as a great relief, especially during the festive season.
“The reduction is a great relief. It will reduce transportation costs and benefit Nigerians. God will continue to bless Alhaji Aliko Dangote,” he said.
A public affairs analyst and university lecturer, Dr. Tunde Akanni, said the collaboration between Dangote Petroleum Refinery and MRS Oil represents a significant step towards improving the affordability, quality, and sustainability of petroleum products in Nigeria.
According to Dr. Akanni, “this move will not only help ease the financial burden on Nigerians but also promote a more environmentally conscious approach to fuel consumption, benefitting both the economy and public health in the long term.”
As a direct implication of the Federal Government’s Foreign Direct Investment drive, the Royal Dutch Shell has completed the final investment decision on the deep offshore Bonga North project in Nigeria.
Biztellers reports that the Bonga North will be a subsea tie-back to the Shell-operated Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility which Shell operates with a 55% interest.
Shell’s Integrated Gas and Upstream Director, Zoë Yujnovich, said, “This is another significant investment, which will help us to maintain stable liquids production from our advantaged Upstream portfolio”.
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It was gathered that the Bonga North project involves drilling, completing, and starting up 16 wells (8 production and 8 water injection wells), modifications to the existing Bonga Main FPSO and the installation of new subsea hardware tied back to the FPSO.
The company is optimistic that the project will sustain oil and gas production at the Bonga facility.
The Bonga North currently has an estimated recoverable resource volume of more than 300 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) and will reach a peak production of 110,000 barrels of oil a day, with first oil anticipated by the end of the decade.
In addition, the Bonga North will help ensure Shell’s leading Integrated Gas and Upstream business continues to drive cash generation into the next decade.
Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), has received an award as “Energy company of the year (2024)” for its Environmental Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility accomplishments.
The award presented by the Nigerian News Direct newspaper, on Friday December 6, 2024, and was received by Manager Communications, Chevron Nigeria and Mid-Africa Business Unit, Victor Anyaegbudike, at a colourful event at the Grand Ballroom of the Oriental Hotel, Lagos.
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The organizers of the award noted that Chevron has implemented the “Protecting People and the Environment” policy, which aims at preventing injuries, illnesses, and environmental incidents. They also referenced that the company has achieved 97% gas flaring reduction in its operations in Nigeria, while implementing waste management and environmental conservation programs.
According to the media organization, Chevron Nigeria has also invested millions of dollars in community development programs, supporting education, health and economic development initiatives that have benefited thousands of people, while ensuring diversity, inclusion, and employee engagement in its business operations.
Receiving the award from the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotosho, Anyaegbudike thanked the organizers for the honour, and reiterated Chevron’s commitment to continue to develop, affordable, reliable and ever-cleaner energy that enables human progress around the world.
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