Day: May 6, 2024

Vice-President Kashim Shettima is expected to depart Abuja for Dallas, United States of America, to represent President Bola Tinubu at the 2024 US-Africa Business Summit.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the summit is organised by the Corporate Council on Africa.

Mr Stanley Nkwocha, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of The Vice-President, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

Nkwocha said Shettima would join other political and business leaders across Africa, the USA and beyond for the summit.

According to him, the summit will feature high-level dialogues, networking business sessions and the plenary, all scheduled for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas.

He said that the African leaders expected at the summit include, the President, Republic of Liberia; Joseph Boakai, President, Republic of Malawi; Lazarus Chakwera and the President, Republic of Angola, Joao Lourenço.

Nkwocha said other African leaders that woul
d grace the summit are the President, Republic of Botswana, Mokgweetsi E. K. Masisi, President, Republic of Cabo Verde, José Maria Neves, and the Deputy Prime Minister, Kingdom of Lesotho, Nthomeng Majara.

He said besides the summit’s plenary, Shettima would speak at the Roundtable on African Infrastructure Investment with a focus on impact and returns.

‘He (Shettima) is also scheduled to speak on a high-level panel on agribusiness, focusing on transiting ‘from food insecurity to thriving agribusinesses.

‘Additionally, the Vice-President will speak at a plenary session on Navigating Africa’s Energy Future as well as chair a session dedicated to promoting the ‘invest in Nigeria’ initiative.

‘He is also expected to attend other meetings and engagements on the sideline of the summit.’

Nkwocha said that Vice-President Shettima is expected back in the country at the end of his engagements in the US.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says government is making strides in the delivery of the energy plan unveiled by President Cyril Ramaphosa in July 2022.

Ramokgopa’s remarks comes as the country marks 40 consecutive days of no load shedding.

Ramokgopa attributed this to improvement in structural changes within Eskom, which has seen last year’s anticipated unplanned capacity loss factor reduced from 15 000 megawatts to 14 000 megawatts during the same period.

‘Eskom, by its own admission accepts that the kind of improvement that we have seen is so enduring that we can say to the country that we have clocked back 1000 megawatts compared to the same period of the previous calendar year,’ he said.

Updating the media on the progress of the Energy Action Plan (EAP) in Pretoria on Monday, Ramokgopa noted the aggressive rollout of solar photovoltaic (PV) by both industry and households on the back of incentives provided for by the National Treasury.

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‘[Due to] the kind of reforms that have been introduced, we are seeing greater numbers of households and industry that are taking up the opportunity to roll out solar PVs behind the meter intervention,’ Ramokgopa said.

He also noted that on the back of the fiscal support received from National Treasury, Eskom has been able to invest a significant proportion of time into planned maintenance.

‘When we went to December of 2023 transitioning into January 2024, we experienced about 18% of the total generating capacity taken out for planned maintenance, unprecedented in the past three years, as a result of this fiscal support. These concerted efforts are beginning to bear fruits,’ the Minister said.

He said the biggest enemy is to ensure that the entity addresses the issue of unit failures, including unplanned capacity loss factor, and efficiency of the units.

Ramokgopa said during the same period in May 2023, unplanned capacity loss factor moved from 16 800 megawatts
to about 18 000 megawatts.

‘This recovery and the clawing back of the 7 000 megawatts is something that has been experienced over a period of time [and] in this instance, over a 24-month period. All indications suggest that we will continue to improve on this number,’ Ramokgopa said.

To date, unplanned outages from 26 April 2024 have been reduced by about 4 400 megawatts from 15 500 megawatts experienced some time ago.

Upcoming elections

Meanwhile, Ramokgopa disputed the accusations that the improvement in electricity has something to do with the upcoming National and Provincial government elections on 29 May 2024, saying ‘there’s no correlation between this performance and the date of 29 May.”

‘When the team was making these efforts; when we ramped up planned maintenance in December and January, little did we know that there would be a big date with a ballot box on the 29th of May.

‘This is not staged [or] managed. It is an orchestrated effort, and an engineering feed by the team at Eskom.

‘What we kn
ow is that UCLF [unplanned capacity loss factor] is tracking at 29% as of April of 2024, as opposed to 34 % of April 2023. We have recovered five percentage points over the period of the same period in April and a comparable period this year in April.

‘You do not earn and recover that five percentage points suddenly because a date of an elections has been announced. It is as a result of process mapping in an engineering term; the stabilisation of management; ensuring that we use and deploy this fiscal injection, and identifying candidate stations that can give us the best returns in the shortest possible space of time.’

Source: South African Government News Agency

National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) Administrator, Freeman Nomvalo, has assigned staff to urgently address concerns around the outstanding payments for private student accommodation.

This follows complaints brought to the Administrator’s attention regarding alleged outstanding payments for private student accommodation and reports of students being locked out by landlords in some areas.

‘We anticipate that these should be resolved during the course of the month of May 2024,’ Nomvalo said.

To ensure that the issues do not further disrupt teaching and learning, the Administrator has urged the affected landlords to cooperate with the established NSFAS process to address all concerns.

Nomvalo said a dedicated email address has been established to process all disputes or concerns from landlords. All disputes and concerns regarding alleged outstanding payments for private student accommodation must be submitted to [email protected].

‘All landlords are encouraged to deposit their disputes or
concerns only in so far as outstanding payments are concerned. Submissions must be received not later than 10 May 2024,’ Nomvalo said.

The Administrator apologised to all affected institutions, including students and landlords, and committed to a speedy resolution.

‘We are committed to working with all the stakeholders to find workable solutions for the betterment of the post school education and training system,’ Nomvalo said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Maj.-Gen. Richard Gyane, Commandant, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), Accra, Ghana, has called for capacity building for women and youth to build their resilience to tackle terrorism.

Gyane made this known at the opening ceremony of a Mobile Training course on Women, Youth, and Violent Extremism and Terrorism, organised by KAIPTC in collaboration with the Norwegian Government, on Monday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training aims at building the capacities of women and youth in Nigeria to be more resilient against the threat of Violent Extremism and Terrorism (VET).

He explained that heavy-handed tactics by security forces have sown distrust among and within local communities in some countries, making women and youth more vulnerable to exploitation and recruitment by terrorists.

The commandant said that terrorist groups exploited latent ethnic animosities, mistrust of security forces, and the absence of state presence in certain parts of the lit
toral countries to enhance their agenda.

He explained that the training developed by KAIPTC for women and youth, which was the sixth edition, would equip the beneficiaries with requisite knowledge skills and resilience against VET.

‘As we gather here today, it is clear that VET continues to escalate at an alarming rate in coastal states of West Africa.

‘This is terrifying for citizens, especially women, youth, and children, although what we see is just the tip of the iceberg.

‘As such, there is a need for partners to remain committed in this fight against VET by building the resilience of their main targets (women, youth, and vulnerable communities), to prevent and counter the recruitment processes of these VET groups.

‘It is obvious that there is a critical need to build the resilience and capacity of women and youth to also support the efforts of security practitioners in achieving this unity of purpose.

‘KAIPTC collaborates with its key and strategic partners to organise VET-related courses both at t
he centre and as Mobile Training Teams (MTTs), because the fight against VET is not only for security practitioners but for all,’ he said.

Gyane said that as security responses to the threat of VET ramped up, the ability of governments in the littoral countries to avoid the mistakes of their counterparts in the Sahel (Mali and Burkina Faso) was critical.

He explained that KAIPTC preferred to teach participants through collaborative problem-based learning methodology and based on peer learning.

Gyane urged them to be actively involved in the training and offering informed suggestions to address the VET threat regionally.

Dr Joseph Ochogwu, Director General, Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), who declared the training opened, said the institute was glad to identify with KAIPTC, adding that the strategic course was timely.

Ochogwu said that women and youth were the worst hit by the menace of violent extremism and terrorism particularly due to their high level of vulnerability.

‘My presence
here today to join forces with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) and Norwegian Government in the swift conduct of this strategic Course, is a testament of our resolve to achieving a nation and continent devoid of violent extremism and terrorism.

‘It is my earnest belief and the belief of the entire team at IPCR that working together, we can create a safer and more secure future for our nation and the entire West African region.

‘I have no doubt in my mind that this five-day event will achieve its overarching goals of equipping the participants with the requisite knowledge and skills to combat Violent Extremism and Terrorism in Nigeria, Sahel Region and Africa as a whole,’ the IPCR DG said.

He added that the array of experienced resource persons participating in the course was proof that all stakeholders were determined to stamp out VET for regional stability, integration, sustainable development and global peace.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Ltd., operator of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two (MMA2), Ikeja, says its proposed regional operations has not been abandoned.

Bi-Courtney’s Acting Chief Operating Officer, Mr Remi Jibodu, said this at a media parley to mark the 17th anniversary of the facility on Monday in Lagos.

Jibodu said the launch of the regional operations was still in the pipeline, as there was approval for it, and the operator had consistently maintained facilities acquired for the operations.

‘The launch of regional operations, considering our track record of continuous growth and excellence, will provide a single hub for domestic airlines.

‘This will boost revenue through transit flights, drive economic growth by creating more jobs, and enhance connectivity.

‘This expansion will open new revenue opportunities, benefiting all stakeholders involved.

‘The economic ripple effects will be felt far and wide, from increased foot traffic in our terminal to enhanced commercial opportunities’.

J
ibodu also said that one key achievement of the operator in the past 17 years was the resounding success of its Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

He said this had helped foster collaborations with private entities that had enabled Bi-Courtney to deliver world-class services to passengers and stakeholders.

He recalled Chanchangi Airline Flight NCH 334; with registration number 5N BEU, with 70 passengers as the first airline to use the terminal on May 7, 2007.

The chief operating officer revealed that 10 domestic airlines including Ibom Air, Valuejet, Air Peace, Arik Air, Aero Contractors, Dana Air, United Nigeria Airlines, Azman Air, Max Air, and Rano Air currently use the terminal daily.

According to him, more than 10,000 guests visit the terminal daily, including passengers, stakeholders, concessionaires, and many others who visit to shop, eat, and fly.

Speaking on the successes of the operator, Jibodu said that Infrastructural development, establishment of e-gate had helped to streamline passenge
rs’ facilitation and seamless journey.

He added that the provisions of uninterrupted power supply system and the recent development of flight distribution guidelines after the trend of passengers’ unrest at the slightest provocation had given a face-lift to the operations.

He said that the MMA2 training centre was another milestone which had earned the operator several accolades nationally and internationally.

‘Our training center is not just a place of learning; it is a symbol of empowerment, providing individuals with the tools they need to soar to new heights.

‘Whether it’s an aspiring ground staff learning the intricacies of customer service or advanced aviation security courses, our training centre is a place where dreams take flight.

‘Looking ahead, we are poised to embark on an exciting journey toward continued growth and innovation.

‘Our plans include further expansion of our terminal facilities, implementation of improved technology to enhance security, sustainable initiatives to expand our car
go ecosystem, and the commencement of regional operations from our terminal’, Jibodu said.

Meanwhile, Mr Temitope Yusuf, Value Jet MMA2 Station Manager, said that the airline had enjoyed consistent support, professionalism and commitment to safety of the MMA2 operator.

Similarly, Mrs Monica Aguta, Head, Aviation Security, MMA2, said that the terminal prides itself on the milestone achievements it had recorded over the years.

She said that security and safety played a pivotal role in the success recorded so far.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Melissa Jones, Mission Director, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Nigeria says the newly launched Nigeria Plastic Solutions Initiative will create 10,000 jobs and generate $4.8 million in income.

Jones made this known in her remarks at the launch of the Nigeria Plastic Solutions Activity, an initiative equally funded by USAID and the Coca-Cola Foundation, on Monday, in Lagos.

The launch had the theme, ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Building a Sustainable Future.’

The Nigeria Plastic Solutions Activity is a 24-month initiative being implemented by TechnoServe Nigeria, in collaboration with its partner, the Growing Businesses Foundation (GBF).

This initiative seeks to tackle the critical challenge of plastic waste management in Nigeria through innovative recycling solutions.

Jones said the goal of the activity was to recycle 49,000 metric tons of plastic waste produced in Lagos and Anambra states over the next two years.

She added that by recycling plastics, the environment was safeguarded and
pathways to economic empowerment for underemployed Nigerians unlocked.

According to her, Nigeria is the ninth highest contributor to plastic pollution, with about 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, over 88 percent of which is not recycled.

The result of this, she said, is excessive plastic pollution, which threatens ecosystems, marine life, and public health.

‘It is plastic pollution that clogs our waterways, mars our landscapes, kills thousands of marine animals, and releases toxins into the environment.

‘Firstly, plastics recycling reduces the demand for virgin materials, curbing the energy-intensive process of producing new plastics by up to 90 per cent and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent.

‘Recycling plastics also reduces the amount of plastic entering the ocean by 80 per cent.

‘The 49,000 metric tons of plastics collected and recycled under the Nigeria Plastic Solutions Activity will contribute to efforts to achieve these targets and the overall goal of a more sustainable
and circular plastics economy in Nigeria,’ she said.

Jones added that asides improving the environment, plastic collection, sorting, aggregating, processing and manufacturing offers employment opportunities.

On her part, Small and medium scale enterprises and entry-level and semi-skilled workers particularly stand to benefit from this new value chain.

‘Because barriers to entry in the recycling sector are relatively low, the National Plastic Solutions Activity will be able to employ marginalised groups including women, youth, and people with disabilities.’

She noted that USAID would provide an enabling environment to improve the competitiveness, sustainability, and profitability of numerous collectors, aggregators and recyclers.

On her part, plastics recycling is not just an environmental imperative, it’s a catalyst for sustainable development and economic prosperity.

General Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria Ltd, Mariam Khan said her company remained committed to creating shared opportunities and making a dif
ference in communities.

She noted that the initiative was not just about cleaning up but also about positively impacting lives and creating jobs.

‘This programme is a key illustration of what collaborative efforts can do for the society and the ripple effect of this will be significant,’ she said.

In her remarks, Adesuwa Akinboro Country Director, Nigeria, TechnoServe said the activity aims to reduce plastic waste in Lagos and Anambra states by at least 49,000 metric tons, through inclusive, market-driven interventions along the value chain.

According to her, a fundamental aspect of the approach is the emphasis on developing market systems to drive the circular economy.

‘We recognise the complexities within the plastic waste recycling value chain and are committed to addressing these challenges through innovative solutions that will enable sustainable practices and create inclusive job opportunities.

‘Our collaborative model ensures that we remain accountable and effective in achieving our waste reducti
on and recycling targets, reinforcing our commitment to environmental stewardship,’ she noted.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria