04082020 - Insecurity situation rapidly worsening — GOVERNORS

14 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, AUGUST 4, 2020
:Vanguard News
:@vanguardnews :@vanguardnews NEWS HOTLINES: 08052867023, 08052867058
FUMIGATION: Fumigation exercise, in preparation for the resumption of Senior Secondary
School 3 students, at the Government Secondary School, Garki, Abuja. Photo: Abayomi Adeshida.
No clause in loan contracts ceding Nigeria's
sovereignty to China —Chinese Foreign ministry
• Denies political interest in investment financing in Nigeria, Africa
By Victoria Ojeme
THE CHINESE Foreign
Ministry, CFM, yesterday
denied that China had
any clause in its loan contracts
ceding Nigeria'
sovereignty to China.
Recall that last week members
of the House of Representatives
claimed they had
uncovered clauses in a loan
obtained by Nigeria from
China that conceded Nigeria'
sovereignty to China.
But the Chinese foreign
ministry in a statement said
"We follow a "five-no" approach
in our relations with
Africa: no interference in African
countries' pursuit of
development paths that fit
their national conditions; no
interference in African countries'
internal affairs; no imposition
of our will on African
countries; no attachment
of political strings to assistance
to Africa; and no seeking
of selfish political gains
in investment and financing
cooperation with Africa," the
ministry quoted President Xi
Jinping, as saying at the
FOCAC Beijing Summit in
2018.
The foreign ministry said
"China is committed to enhancing
investment and financial
cooperation with African
countries based on their
needs to help them improve
infrastructure and extradite
socioeconomic development.
By funding infrastructure
and other areas that lag behind
for short of money, we
have helped the relevant
countries break bottlenecks,
enhance their capacity for
independent development,
realize social and economic
sustainable development,
and improve people's livelihood.
Such cooperation has
delivered tangible benefits to
African countries and peoples.
"In the process, China always
gives full consideration
to debt sustainability and
seeks mutually-acceptable
proposals through equal
and friendly consultations.
That is the fundamental reason
behind the enormous
popularity of China-Africa
cooperation in Africa."
How $900m loan for Azura Power was raised —Mgt
....Says Azura supplies 10% output to national grid
By Udeme Akpan
THE MANAGEMENT of
Azura Power, yesterday,
said the Financial Guarantees,
signed by the Federal
Government was an essential
document, which paved
way for the raising of almost
$900 million loan from the
International Finance Corporation,
IFC and other institutions
for the construction
of the Azura-Edo Independent
Power Plant, IPP.
Managing Director of the
company, Edu Okeke, said
it could have been impossible
for the company to construct
the plant in Nigeria,
because there was no framework
to guarantee investors
and financiers that they
would recover their investments.
Speaking on a private
television programme,
Okeke said the company
had no option than to work
with the government to secure
the guarantee required
by the banks, including,
FCMB/BOI - Central Bank
of Nigeria, Proparco –
French Government Development
Financial Institution,
DFI, Swedfund –
Swedish Government DFI,
International Finance Corporation
– Multilateral DFI,
ICF Debt Pool – Multilateral
DFI, Standard Chartered
Bank – International Commercial
Bank, Rand Merchant
Bank – International
Commercial Bank, Standard
Bank – International Commercial
Bank, Mauritius
Commercial Bank – Mauritian
Commercial Bank and
Siemens Bank – German
Commercial Bank.
Okeke who noted that the
construction was executed
and completed ahead of
record time, said Azura had
consistently delivered over
10 per cent of its output to
the national grid.
Construction
According to the project
report, “The Azura-Edo IPP
was built by a consortium
composed of Siemens and
Julius Berger in exactly 28
months. Its completion occurred
eight months ahead
of its 36-month construction
schedule without a single
lost-time injury. As a result
of this best-in-class construction
performance, the Azura
Edo IPP has become a performance
benchmark for other
large-scale infrastructure
projects across the African
continent.
“The plant was commissioned
in the first quarter of
2018 and attained full commercial
operations on May
1, 2018. Since then, the
plant’s operational performance
has been among the
highest of any new-build
plant anywhere in the world.
Its availability rate, to date,
has exceeded 96 per cent
and its equivalent forced
outage rate has been lower
than two per cent. In consequence,
during the period
since we reached commercial
operations, the Azura-
Edo IPP has provided more
than eight per cent of all the
power sent to the national
grid.”
Don’t cancel
agreement
Meanwhile, in an email to
Vanguard, National Secretary,
Nigeria Electricity Consumers
Advocacy Network,
NECAN, Uket Obonga, who
noted that the Azura deal
was desirable, said: “I don’t
believe that we should be
calling for outright cancellation
of the agreement yet.
Rather, a team of legal experts
outside the Ministries
of Justice and Power, should
carefully study the terms and
conditions of the agreements
and advise Government accordingly.
The report or the
legal opinion of this body of
legal expert should inform
the next line of action to be
taken by the Federal Government.
“Both parties – Azura and
Federal Government should
revisit the Partial Risk Guarantees,
PRGs, and agree on
how the interest of the parties
could best be protected.
Nothing should be done to
send wrong signal to the international
community that
Nigeria cannot be relied
upon to keep to agreement.
We cannot be asking for Foreign
Direct Investments and
at the same time wilfully
breaching the terms and conditions
of agreement we executed
with investors who
obtained credits from a consortium
of foreign Banks to
invest in the power sector.”
Way forward
On the way forward, Dr.
Okoro added: “In no other
way than upgrading our critical
energy infrastructural
deficit, we need to build more
substations, supply transformers,
provide meters and
revamp our decayed infrastructure.”
Isa Funtua was pillar of support
to my govt —Buhari
• Writes deceased family in Hausa
By Johnbosco
Agbakwuru
AMuhammadu BUJA—PRESIDENT
Buhari
has once again lamented the
loss of the late publisher and
businessman, Mallam
Isma'ila Isa Funtua, describing
his demise as a major
national loss.
President Buhari in a letter
he personally wrote to the
family of the late veteran journalist
in Hausa language
said, Malam Isa Funtua was
of great assistance to him
and his administration.
In a statement issued by
the Senior Special Assistant
to the President on Media
and Publicity, Mallam Garba
Shehu in Abuja, yesterday,
Buhari said the deceased
helped in many ways
to strengthen his government
and the country before
his demise.
The statement read: "President
Muhammadu Buhari
has sent a letter personally
signed by him to the family
of the late publisher and
businessman, Isma'ila Isa
Funtua, describing his demise
as a major national loss.
"In the letter he wrote in
Hausa, the President told the
bereaved wife, Hajiya Hauwa,
the children and the entire
family members that this
loss was not theirs alone, but
By Ibrahim
HassanWuyo
K ADUNA—DIS
TURBED by the carnage
in Southern Kaduna,
Senator Shehu Sani
who represented Kaduna
Central in the senate,
has joined the Asake led
Southern Kaduna Peoples
Union, SOKAPU, to condemn
the unending killings
and wanton destruction
of properties in
Southern Kaduna.
"Yesterday he paid a
courtesy visit to the National
Headquarters of
SOKAPU in Kaduna and
affirmed his support for
SOKAPU against the
genocide in Southern Kaduna.
SOKAPU President,
Jonathan Asake in
turn, lamented that Kaduna
State had never been
as divided at any time
than under the present
government of Mallam
Nasir el-Rufai", SOKAPU
said in a statement.
The statement, explained
that the erstwhile
lawmaker who was received
by members the
National Executive Committee
of SOKAPU, said,
"whenever people face
cruelty, genocide, massacre
and all kinds of atrocities
it is the moral duty of
every man of conscience
to lend his voice. I have
spoken for the people of
that of the entire country.
"President Buhari said
that, ’Malam Isma'ila was of
great assistance to me and
my administration. He
helped in many ways to
strengthen the government
and the country before his
ultimate demise.’
"The President recalled that
"in his active politics, Malam
Isma'ila served as a Minister.
He was also a businessman
and contractor who built
several government buildings
in Abuja.
"President Buhari said, "he
was a director of Funtua Textile
Mills for 30 years and
chaired the Zamfara Textile
Company," while on his roles
in the media, "Malam
Isma'ila was a life Executive
member of the Board of the
International Press Institute,
IPI.
"Nigerians of all shades
and backgrounds have
nothing but kind words for
him. Late Isma'ila was reputed
throughout his life for
his kindness, generosity
and support for public causes,
big and the not so big."
He urged all those
Malam Isma'ila left behind
not to allow division in their
ranks.
President Buhari also
prayed God to forgive the
departed and grant him Aljannatul-Firdaus
(paradise).
Shehu Sani, Asake, others unite
against S-Kaduna killings
Zamfara very elaborately.
I did so for Sokoto, Katsina,
Niger , Taraba State
and for Birnin Gwari in
Kaduna and Borno, Benue
states and host of others
who are facing similar
evils."
"You can't rationalize or
give excuses for an act of
genocide, cruelty, mass
murder and execution of
human being. There is no
justification for that. I
speak in condemning the
killings in parts, it is the
same way we have to
speak against what is happening
in Southern Kaduna.
" If you're a Christian or
Muslim in Southern Kaduna
your voice must be
heard clearly, explicitly and
unambiguously in condemning
the killings going
on. We must not shy away
from the truth. Because silent
and rationalization of
such attack shows you're in
league with banditry and
terrorism.
"You must not give up
in standing and speaking
for truth to power. We
have never heard it so bad.
Women are killed, Children
burnt and ladies are raped
and a human being will still
try and find a justification
by rationalization of those
evil acts, is unbelievable.
He noted that the violence
in Kaduna is threatening
the peace of Nigeria.’’