Nigeria News: Bitumen Fetches Federal Governent N3trn

Federal Government yesterday realised over N3 trillion ($20,498,115.39) from the financial bidding of two bitumen blocks and mining properties located across the nation.

Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Lesley Obiora, said at the financial bid for the Bitumen blocks and Mining Titles & Properties held in Abuja said the reformation in the solid mineral sector was the culmination of a major privatization exercise with four basic fundamental objectives.

Obiora disclosed that the privatisation exercise will eventually lead to creation of jobs and poverty reduction, while hoping that the two bitumen blocks can attract investments of $600 million each, over two years on exploration and production.

According to her, about $3 billion could be generated over five years if the investors build a local refinery, while the gold properties could attract investments of $25 to $100 million in exploration and development over a period of two years, adding that the

industrial minerals properties like Barytes could also attract investments of $3 to $5 million within a year of operation.

She announced that government will continue "to divest from ownership of mining operations, attract strong, credible players into mining sector, deliver fair value for past government investment and curtail huge waste of national resources."

According to her, the privatisation exercise was aimed to catalyze the rapid growth of the mining sector in the nation, noting that the privatised ones are relatively at more advanced stages of development than the Greenfield mining titles which are more readily available through the licensing procedure."Nigeria is endowed with at least 34 mineral resources in more than 450 locations across the country," noting that the growing global economic position of India and China is hinged on their ever increasing consumption of strategic minerals.

She noted, however, that despite the immense contribution of solid minerals in the nation before the oil discovery in 1956, the nation has experience "drastic decline in the level of revenue to one per cent"

In her remark, Director General of Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Irene Chigbue said the reform in the sector was done in collaboration with MSMD which had 60 prospective investors pre-qualified.

According to her, out of these, 35 bids were submitted by 10 companies out of which five emerged as winners, while five others fell out due to bidding below the reserved prices for the resources.

Culled from AllAFrica

Obasanjo Seeks Senate’s Support for Transportation Project

President Olusegun Obasanjo has sought the understanding of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caucus in the Senate for the consideration of proposals for an inter-modal transportation system for the country.

The President had at a caucus meeting on Wednesday night at the Aguda House in Abuja, a stone’s throw from the Aso Rock Presidential Villa and the National Assembly Complex, appealed to the party’s senators to facilitate the passage of a supplementary budget seeking appropriations for the transportation system.

Speaking on the meeting yesterday, shortly after the Senate adjourned plenary to Tuesday next week, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, said the meeting did not have any political linkage.
He said it was essentially intended by the Presidency to brief the PDP Senate Caucus on its proposals for an inter-modal transportation system in the country.

He said: “Regarding our meeting with President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday (Wednesday night), we were briefed on the proposals for an inter-modal transportation system for the country.

“They took us through their target for the rail system, the inland waterways system and the road network and the airports also and how they can be interlinked to form a grid”.
Denying emphatically that the meeting had a secret political agenda, he stated: “I would like to say that there was no political discussion of any kind.”

Culled from Thisday

FG Licences 3 Power Generation Companies

Supertek Nigeria Limited, run by Mr. Joshua Gana, son of former Information and National Orientation Minister, Professor Jerry Gana, and three other private independent power companies were yesterday presented with Federal Government licenses empowering them to undertake electricity generation in the country. The three others are Farm Electric Supply Limited, which would be managed by a foreigner, Mr. Alistair Morrison, Ethiope Energy Limited, owned by Chief Olubiyi Sangowawa, and ICS Power Limited under the tutelage of Engr. Sam Uzoukwu. Supertek Nigeria Ltd will be located in Akwete in Abia State and is expected to produce 1000MW while Farm Electric Supply Ltd, will operate from Ota, Ogun State and was allotted 150MW.

Similarly, ICS Power Ltd, based in Alaoji, near Aba in Abia State is to generate 624MW and Ethiope Energy Ltd, situated in Ogorode, Sapele, Delta State, would produce 2,800MW. Minister of Power and Steel, Senator Liyel Imoke, who presided over the event, disclosed that with the additional capacity from these new companies, when merged with expected capacity of the various on-going Federal Government-sponsored integrated power projects, the country may well be on its way to meeting a target of 15,000MW national capacity by 2010. "With the generation capacity of over 4,000MW which will be added by these new licensees in the next few years, the country will certainly be making a big step towards achieving the target of 15,000MW by 2010", Imoke stated. According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, (NERC), these companies which had successfully scaled through the commission's technical and financial evaluation, will be adding a total of 4,574MW of electricity to the national power grid when their projects are completed.

One outstanding feature of the event, according to NERC, was that all the four companies are owned by Nigerians. Speaking at the presentation of the licenses in Abuja, Imoke also said the fact that the first four IPP companies to be licensed are all indigenous companies is a reflection that Nigerians are rising up to the challenge of developing the power sector. He said the Federal Government has responded to this initiative of local entrepreneurs by setting up a committee charged with the task of evolving a power sector specific incentive package to encourage more private sector investors into the electricity industry. "The President has established a committee on power sector specific incentive package under the chairmanship of NERC Chairman, Dr. Ransome Owan, to structure these initiatives", said Imoke. The committee is to conclude deliberations within one month and is expected to submit its report and recommendations by end of September, he said.

While commending NERC for facing up with the unique challenges of the power sector regulation, the minister noted that "an efficiently regulated power sector is 'sine qua non' for attracting private sector investment in the sector". Most of the Chief Executives of the new licensee firms, who spoke to THISDAY shortly after the ceremony said they hope to commence power generation within the next 2 years. The companies also said they would adopt a new technology in power generation known as 'Combine Cycle" method which would avail them the benefit of utilising both gas and ethanol energy sources to power their turbines. The Chief Executive Officer of Supertek Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Joshua Gana told THISDAY that the compamy intends to roll-out within the next two years. Managing Director of Ethiope Energy, Mr. Olubiyi Sangowawa called on government to assist the companies in cushioning the effect of the high risks involved in power projects through special incentives such as import duty waivers and gas price concessions. He also sought for a tax holiday of between 5-10 years for the pioneering power generation companies. He said the company would be making an investment of over $400m for it to achieve 1000MW target, adding that the first firing which will come in the next 12 months will gulp about $100m. Director-General of the Bureau for Public Enterprises, Mrs. Irene Chigbue, said Federal Government is in the process of putting up the necessary framework for a vibrant power sector, adding that the next stage of the process would be for the private sector to take up the challenge of setting up power projects.

Culled from Thisday

electronic voting systems | why inec dropped electronic voting

electronic voting systems

Sometime ago i reported that The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may drop the Electronic Voting Machine from the Electronic Voting System (EVS) following its deletion from the Electoral Bill 2006 by the National Assembly.

I came across an article recently that discussed on the problem with electronic voting systems. Particularly interesting here is the fact that the US has been in the path of electronic voting systems and it didn't work; some of the reasons given for its stoppage amongts many are quoted below:

"Computerized machines lost votes, subtracted votes instead of adding them, and doubled votes. Because many of these machines have no paper audit trails, a large number of votes will never be counted. And while it is unlikely that deliberate voting-machine fraud changed the result of the presidential election, the Internet is buzzing with rumors and allegations of fraud in a number of different jurisdictions and races."

go here for more on electronic voting systems

Nurse Employment | Nursing Jobs quota increased in the US

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