electric power

Grimot Nane Zine

No Foreign Investment for Nigerian Electricity

Many Nigerians hopefully think that one day, the nation will attract enough foreign direct investment (FDI) to enable the develop development of electricity in the country. The hope is FDI will thoroughly refurbish, upgrade or expand the generation, transmission and distribution capacities of the [now] privatised Nigerian Electric Power Sector (NEPS) to provide customers with “constant electricity” supplies. Please think again! Foreign investors are not coming into Nigeria with $20 billion (at least) to revamp electricity in the country. Nigeria is in no shape to attract foreign investment, and it is unlikely it would have if things were going well. Does Grand Minister, Babs Fashola, disagree? The attraction of FDI is solely based on the assurance that if invested, it will yield ‘good secure’ profits for the investors. What other incentives are there for foreign investors to invest in Nigeria?

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Grimot Nane Zine

What Fashola is Not Telling Nigerians about Electricity

When last week Grand Minister, Babs Fashola (SAN), claimed his now-famous incapacity to revamp the Nigerian electric power sector was partly due to the inadequacies of Nigeria’s population census agency, he knew he was lying. Another grand act of blamocracy engendered by the Buhari administration. Nigeria’s electric power problems are primarily that of money (investment) and transparency (incorruptibility); it has nothing whatsoever to do with population census. Fashola did not even have to lie about Nigeria’s electricity development backwardness even though he lied about giving Nigerians an ‘electricity miracle’ in just 18 months if President Muhammadu Buhari won the 2015 general elections. Any fiens?

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Nigeria: Stealing in the Name of Nuclear Power

Nigeria: Stealing in the Name of Nuclear Power

Nigeria: Stealing in the Name of Nuclear Power

Anytime you hear that a new great ‘developmental project’ is being planned and undertaken by the Government of Nigeria (GON), it is important to identify who the short, medium and long term beneficiaries and losers created will be. Consultants, contractors, traditional land-owners, traditional rulers, government officials, board members and special interests groups are the short, medium and long term beneficiaries with a mix of obscene upfront fees, atrociously inflated contracts, preferential job offerings, generous concessionaire privileges under privatisation and convenient abandonment clauses. The 150 million ‘everyday Nigerians’ who the GON take out odious “development debts” on their behalf without asking them (by default) become the permanent losers but projected as winners by GON. This ‘development’ winners/losers dichotomy has now been moved to nuclear power, oil is failing. (more…)

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Grimot Nane Zine

Buhari’s Choice and the Expected “Fashola Miracle”

When President Muhammadu Buhari won the 2015 general elections, he did so largely with the support of neutral and anti-PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) commentators. Everything bad in Buhari’s life history was to be forgotten and everything good was in ascendance. From another perspective, it was very difficult for practitioners of competent thinking to justify the pervasive profligacy behemoth of PDP while in power. The ministerial appointments Babs Fashola, Timi Amaechi and other ‘gubernatocrats’ that took more than half a year to make that was the start of the negation of support for President Buhari. Many thinking men deserted except the likes of Wole Soyinka turned their backs on and pens against Buhari. But many political miracles were promised by the Buhari government. Where are they? (more…)

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Grimot Nane Zine

Constant Electricity in Nigeria is Very Risky Business

There is a lot of chit-chat that one of the ”ministerless” wonders of the Buhari administration’s electricity supply to Nigerians across the nation have “improved”. The question is have the blackouts and brown outs stopped? Or has the kilowatt-hour per capita consumption measurably improved? This is an indictment of successive governments that have for decades underdeveloped the power sector then privatised it expecting magic. Electricity is now an “avoided cost” for the government; is not willing to invest in the power sector, so it has been privatised. The cost of power project development many  Nigerians expect the government to shoulder is no longer the its problem but it continues to use electricity as a potent political tool. (more…)

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Grimot Nane Zine

Nuclear Power in Nigeria: Another Crazy ‘Pole Vault’

For many years the Government of Nigeria seems to be managed by a class of “capability pole vaulters”. Government officials tend ‘pole vault’ the nation into many projects they lack the capability, will or wherewithal to execute or sustain effectively. The latest pole vault project is the establishment of nuclear reactors as power plants to provide conatsnt electricity in Nigeria. This is a nation that cannot independently manage its uncomplicated thermal and hydroelectric power plants with any efficacy or credibility. (more…)

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RE: Collapse of Nigeria's Power Privatisation

RE: Collapse of Nigeria’s Power Privatisation

RE: Collapse of Nigeria’s Power Privatisation

http://eyoekpo.com/post/101658521484/the-imminent-collapse-of-nigerias-power-privatisation

I found Timi Soleye’s piece in the Financial Times interesting. The Financial Times and its editors would have a lot to lose by reputation if Soleye produced a story of the privatisation of the electric power sector in Nigeria without facts. And one which could we can readily debunk with counter-facts. Newspaper often restrain articles they publish by word count limits, causing summarisation and missing details. Does one have to represent hidden vested interests to write what they think or observe? (more…)

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