Skip to main content

"Synergy, Commitment Are Key to Global Energy Sustainability, Says Bounour

By Favour Ifeoluwa & Akinola Ajibade  The Chief Executive Officer, Egbin Power Plc, Mr Mohktar Bounour says global transition to cleaner energ and sustainable environment are achievable, as long as there is strong synergy and commitment among stakeholders in the value chain.  He spoke during the maiden edition of  Asharami Square in Lagos. This is an initiative introduced and implemented by the Sahara Group, in order to amplify discourse on energy sustainability through  media advocacy globally. He said: " Having analyzed the percentage of global greenhouse emissions attributed to sectors including electricity/heat production, agriculture/forestry and transportation, we are realised that there is need for synergy  and renewed commitment among stakeholders". According to him, Egbin Power has unwavering commitment to reduce carbon emissions and promotes sustainable energy sources, stressing that the need to depeening engagement and advocacy among stakeholders in
Post a Comment

'Nigerians should prepare for more floods in 2023,' says NEMA





Buildings submerged by floods


By Favour Ajibade



Nigeria will experience a more distaatrous flooding incident in 2023, the Director General,  National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Abeeb Muhammed, has said.

He attributed the floods that are being experienced in many parts of Nigeria, due to the refusal of state governors to heed the earlier warnings of impending floods in 2022. 

He spoke on recently when he appeared  before the Senate Committee on Special Duties led  by Senator Yusuf Yusuf ( APC Taraba state) to defend the 2023 budget proposal of his agency .

He urged governments at all levels to prepare  the challenges ahead by establishing local emergency committees to mitigate the devastating impacts of floods and other disasters across the country.

“Despite the fact that states are collecting Ecological and other intervention funds from the Federal G0overnment, some of them could not boost the standing committee on disaster management and when there is a disaster they look up to the federal government for assistance”, he said.

He added that before the 2022 flood disaster, NEMA wrote about four letters to all states of the federation on the need to set up a local emergency committee to mitigate the impact of floods but only four states heeded the warning.

He disclosed a bottom-up approach in disaster management where the local government is the first respondent followed by the state and if it is beyond what the state can handle, the federal government can then come on board.

“But it is surprising that if there is any disaster, local governments and states look up to NEMA without first providing preliminary support and the manpower and resources at the disposal of NEMA is nothing to write home about. Even what happened in Bayelsa and other states in term casualties can be prevented or minimised if proper arrangements are made” he said

The Senate Committee on Special Duties decried poor budgetary allocation to NEMA and promised to come up with a legislation that would put the agency under the presidency for optimum performance.

It also urged NEMA to get the states engaged and ensure that there are proper plans for people displaced by floods.

“It is high time NEMA go beyond distributing rice, beans and blankets to victims of flood but ensure that you partner with state governments to set up camps for flood victims ” Senator Lilian Ekwunife

Earlier, NEMA boss told the committee that only N774 million is earmarked as capital vote for the agency in 2023, N1.77 billion for personnel cost while a sum of N162 million is proposed for overhead cost in 2023 budget.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

HAPPY 70 TO ELDER ADE ADEDAMOLA OGIDAN

PLATINUM BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY OF ELDER ADE ADEDAMOLA OGIDAN, A FOREMOST JOURNALIST & EDITOR By Favour Ifeoluwa & Akinola Ajibade Like a new born child, beaming with smiles for coming out of his mother's womb in order to live a fulfiled life, the celebrator,Ade Ogidan fits perfectly well into this category. Simply known as AAO, a shorten form of Ade Adedamola Ogidan, the thorough based journalist is without doubt, a  well grounded newsman.. With Bachelor of Science ( BSC) Degree in   Sociology and Anthropology( 1976 ) from University of Nigeria, Nsukka,  Ogidan has cut his teeth well in Journalism. Prior to this, he  taught in Osogbo Grammar School and worked at the Nigerian Communication respectively  after his youth service, a development, which no doubt prepared  him well for journalism profession and other future engagements. Pragmatic, resilient and outspoken, where it matters, Ogidan ensured  that his tenure as the first Chairman of Pineapple Estate, Ikorod
1 comment
Read more

NNPC Completes Mechanical Rehabilitation of Port Harcourt Refinery Plant

By Favour Ifeoluwa & Akinola Ajibade The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, says that it has mechanically completed the rehabilitation of Area 5 Plant of the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC). The nation's oil company began rehabilitation of the refinery two years ago, while at the same time, promised to complete its by 31st December 2023. The Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd., Mr. Mele Kyari, said as of December 15th, 2023, 84.4% of Area 5 Plant, a key component of the Refinery, and 77.4% of the entire rehabilitation project have been completed. “In our quest to ensure that this refinery is re-streamed to continue to deliver value to Nigerians, we made a promise that we will reach a mechanical completion of phase one of the rehabilitation project by the end of December and get the other plants running in 2024. Today, we have kept those commitments,” Kyari stated. The GCEO commended NNPC's staff and the EPCIC contractors for doing a g
Post a Comment
Read more

Fed Govt Commences New VAT Sept 1

By Favour & Akinola Ajibade Buoyed by the resolve to deepen the country's revenue base and further and further speed up implementation of capital projects in Nigeria, the  Federal Government will in the next six days, precisely September 1, this year, starts collecting the  new Value Added Tax( VAT).  The government is achieving  this goal through the Federal Inland Revenue Service(FIRS).  FIRS, in a statement,  said subject to the Finance Act 2023, VAT withheld or collected, VAT on items excluded from building, the new Tertiary Education Tax rate of 3 per cent and Investment Allowances and Convertible Currencies will become effective September 1, 2023. Certain amended provisions of the Finance Act 2023 were enacted on 28th May, 2023 with the effective date of 1st May 2023. However, the effective date was changed to 1st September 2023. Some of the amended Sections are 14 (3) which deals on VAT Withheld or Collected. The VAT Act was amended to the effect that persons
Post a Comment
Read more