Queue at the filing station The President, Petroleum Products Retailers Owners of Nigeria( PETROAN), Dr Billy Gills Harry, says the reduction of the product, by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited( NNPCL) is good for the nation'struggling economy, as it would help in soften the difficult situations posed by the sharp rise in the price of petroleum products. While reacting to the issue through a statement issued and signed to the NEWSMIRROR yesterday, Harry said that the slight reversal of the price by NNPCL shows that the government is committed to the alleviation of the problems of the masses. According to him, the reduction in the price per litre of Petrol Motoring Spirit( PMS) from N1,020 per litre to N899 per litre is good, adding that the country will soon get over its problem, if the readjustment of the economy continues. Also, PETROAN's Public Relation Officer, Dr Joseph Obele said that Dangote Petroleum Refinery had earlier started the r...
By Akinola Ajibade
Brighter days are ahead of thousand of communities acros the country, as the Rural Eradication Agency ( RAE)[ and the thirty state governor are collaborating on how to boost supply of electricity in the country, the Managing Director/Chief Executive officer ,Ahmad Salihijo Ahmad gave this indication recently
He spoke during a workshop organised by REA in conjunction with the African Clean Energy Technical Assitance Facility (;AGETAF);and the Nigeria Governors Forum in Abuja .
He said that the collaboration would. help in fast-, tracking the approval and other associated permits, providing data of unserved & underserved communities within the States,.
Others he said, include creation of an enabling environment for private sector developers and providing an interface between the REA, the states and the developers towards ensuring the sustainability of projects in their states.
The workshop served as a platform for the REA to convey its programmes and initiatives to the state governments and critical stakeholders at the workshop for a better understanding of its operations, and to achieve implementation sustainability and enhanced performance across all its programmes.
It provided an avenue for the REA to listen to the challenges faced by the States and proffer solutions that are critical in advancing the course of the REA Mandate and improving the energy sector.
Declaring the workshop open, Minister of State for Power, Goddy Jedy-Agba, said “I believe that a stakeholder engagement such as this, beyond helping to stimulate growth in our critical sectors, ultimately enables the exchange of valuable ideas targeted at national development.”
Also, the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Dr. Kayode Fayemi through his representative, Dr Abdulateef Shittu, the Executive Director, Nigeria Governors Forum, commended the management of REA for living up to its mandate of expanding rural electricity access across the rural frontiers of the country.
He stated that “the states are committed to the success of rural electrification programmes and emphasized that the rural economy is central to the overall national economy which is predicated on effective and robust rural electrification scheme.
He added:”This stakeholders’ workshop is coming at a very critical time when all hands must be on deck to solidify and improve on the gains that have been achieved in the energy sector. “
The Team Leader for Economic Development, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Gail Warrander mentioned “States have a critical role to play in developing policies and plans to support offgrid energy; through easy access to land for minigrids and simplified permits but also, they are best-placed to match potential locations for minigrid and stand-alone solar systems with households and businesses.
The United Kingdom (UK) is supporting the sector through the Africa Clean Energy – Technical Assistance Facility (ACE-TAF), and a 10 million pounds facility to InfraCredit to de-risk insurance and pension funds invested in the sector, as well as other programmes.”
The Nigeria Country Manager for ACE-TAF, Chibuikem Agbaegbu while giving his presentation stated that “We are positive that this collaboration between the Federal Government through the REA and the State Governments will accelerate energy access delivery in States especially in the rural un-served and under-served communities. We are happy to be partners to both REA and the state governments on this initiative, and will continue to support both parties in ensuring Nigeria meets its electricity targets”
The resolution at the workshop was outlined to include: Nomination of a Focal Person in each State for synergy between REA and State Governments; Timely information sharing with State Focal Persons on REA’s programmes and projects in planning, implementation and monitoring of projects; REA to create a centralized data repository for Rural Electrification data with State-level access for seamless data sharing of planned, completed, and ongoing projects.
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