MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2016 • T H I S D AY
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NEWSXTRA
Ishaku Urges FG to Remove Encumbrances to Take-off of Mambilla Hydro Power Project Bolaji Adebiyi in Abuja The Taraba State Governor, Mr. Darius Ishaku, has urged the federal government to take urgent steps to remove all hindrances to the effective take-off the Mambilla Hydro Power Project that is projected to deliver 3,050 MW to the national grid upon completion. Ishaku spoke with THISDAY at the weekend and listed the non-payment of compensation and lack of resettlement plan for the inhabitants of the project site as well as lack of access road to the site as the big issues militating against the commencement of the project over 30 years after it was conceived. “As I speak to you now, the federal government has done nothing in terms of remuneration and compensation for the people and getting the site cleared of encumbrances,” he said, adding: “Right now, I can’t take you to the site of the project because the access is not there. There is no road to where the dam will be built.” There had been a resurgence of hope that the project, reputed to be the biggest
in Africa and flagged off in 2007 by President Olusegun Obasanjo, would commence as a team of 40 Chinese engineers in company with officials of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing visited its Gembu, Sardauna Local Government Area of the state site, in September 2016. But the governor said the hope was misplaced as the basic conditions for the movement to site had not been met. “People are still living in the valley of the dam as we speak, he said, emphasizing: “There is a Bible College right where the dam is going to be built.” Ishaku said both the federal and state governments needed to deal urgently with the resettlement of an estimated 150,000 persons spread over five local government areas that the project site would consume, explaining that this was an enormous challenge that had to be surmounted before the construction of the huge hydro power station could begin without hitches. The governor spoke of the need to sensitise the people to the imminent reality of relocation and said the state
government would do its best to assist the federal government in this regard even as he expressed his frustration at the slow response of Abuja to his enthusiasm to get the project off the ground. “We have held meetings with the Minister (of Power, Works and Housing) and up till now, I have not seen any result and this will take us about one year. So, if you say the project will take seven years of construction and for one year nothing has been done especially in trying to get to the site, it means a lot still need to be done,” Ishaku said, adding: “I am happy with the project and we will do everything possible to make sure the project is realised to the benefit of the country in general and Taraba state in particular.” Urging the federal government to fasttrack the
commencement of the project by constructing an access road to its site, he said the state government had being laying the groundwork to ease the work of the contractors engaged to construct the dam. According to him, the opening of the Jalingo Airport was part the state government’s efforts to ease access to the project site. “Due to this talk about the Mambilla project and opening up Taraba State, the first thing I did when I came on board was to open the Taraba Airport. Before you cannot access Jalingo by air, but right now, you have Overland on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays and we are hoping that by December, it will be a daily flight. All the engineers and contractors that will come to the state should have an easy access,” he said. The massive project, which is about 340 kilometres from
Jalingo, the state capital, stretches from River Dongo in Gembu, headquarters of Sardauna Local Government Area to Baruf where the river cascades from 1,671metres above sea level into the basin below. It is here that the project’s huge turbines would be stationed. Apart from electricity, the dam is also designed to boost irrigation farming in the state, a major source of interests for thousands of people who live in the project area because of the employment opportunities it offers them. First awarded in 2007 by President Olusegun Obasanjo to provide 2,600MW, no progress was made even as President Jonathan reviewed and expanded the scope of the project to 3,050MW in 2011 and increased its cost to $3.2billion. But the project remained
comatose, particularly with the inclusion of Sinohydro Corporation, a Chinese firm that was not part of the original bid winners – CGC/ CGGC in 2005. The Muhammadu Buhari administration has, however, reconciled the two Chinese companies, committing them to agree on the handling of the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract. The project’s current cost is $5.732billion (about N1.140trillion) and is expected last for about 63 months after flag off, including 12 months for a Defect Liability Period (test running). The federal government hopes to drop its 15 per cent equity financing from its expected N1trillion income from the sales of its 10 gasbased power plants under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs).
Saraki to Host Memorial Prayer for His Father Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, will tomorrow morning host the fourth annual prayer session in Ilorin in remembrance of his late father, Dr. Olusola Saraki. The former leader of the Senate in the Second Republic died on November 14, 2012. A statement by his Special Adviser, Media, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, said the prayer session scheduled to hold in the
Ilofa road home of the Sarakis in Ilorin will be attended by family members led by the matriarch, Mrs. Florence Saraki, Senators, members of the Kwara State Government, friends of the family and numerous supporters of the late political leader from across the country, despite the fact that the family usually make it a low-key event without any form of flamboyance.
PARTNERS IN PROGRESS
L-R: Legal Adviser/Company Secretary, SunTrust Bank, Mr. Lawal Ahmed; President of Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Prof. Segun Ajibola, presenting a gift to Managing Director, SunTrust Bank, Muhammad Jibrin; and Registrar, CIBN, Seye Awojobi, during the visit by CIBN to SunTrust Bank head office in Lagos ...recently
Students Sat on the Floor with Chairs Locked Away Dangote, Others Charged to Tackle Recession You may call it teacher’s inhumanity to students and you won’t be wrong. The sight was both pathetic and annoying. For long, students of Hafsat Ahmadu Bello Memorial Secondary School, Sokoto, have had to endure learning in the most uncomfortable way. Only a few classes in the school have enough seats to accommodate them. For long, they have to put up with taking lectures while seated on bare floor. Most use prayer mats to protect their whote tops from the floor’s dust, while other come to classes with extra wrappers to spray on floor as they sit. While they have to put up with the most uncomfortable situation to take lectures daily, a few blocks away, 200 sets of classroom furniture were locked away, unattended to, and left to rot away. But their suffering came to an end last week when
the committee set up by Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal to implement the state of emergency declared in education visited the school. The visit was facilitated by the need to individually assess problems of various schools and make recommendations to government on how best to address them. “Upon visiting the Hafsat Ahmadu Bello Memorial Secondary School, Sokoto, students were seen taking lectures while sitting on the floor. To our amazement, a few blocks away, 200 new classroom furniture were locked away unattended to. We immediately ordered that the furniture be arranged in the classes in need, and the school management was admonished to always prioritise the need of the students at all times,” said Dr. Shadi Sabeh, who led members of the School Needs Assessment sub-committee during the visit.
ABCCIMA calls for passage of Land Reform Bill
Damilola Oyedele in Abuja
Phillip Shuaibu, to accelerate growth and development on The Speaker of the House Edo State. of Representatives, Hon. “I had come in contact with Yakubu Dogara, has called the governor when I was serving on entrepreneurs such as in the House of Representatives, businessman, Aliko Dangote, specifically, on the House and others to assist Nigeria Committee on Capital Market. get out of the current economic He made appearances before recession. that committee and I can attest He made this call at a reception to the fact that I know him to to mark the inauguration of be a man that is very deep. So the Governor of Edo State, when I heard that the people of Mr. Godwin Obaseki, at the Edo State identified him as one weekend, where he harped on of the shining stars that will take the need for entrepreneurs to over from the governor that by put heads together and proffer popular consensus, performed solutions to the recession. credibly well, I knew that they According to a statement had made a good choice,” issued yesterday, Dogara Dogara said. was spoke in the presence “I will say that with our of Dangote, Mr. Aigboje Aig- brother, who is his deputy, a Imoukhuede and other players man who cut his teeth early in the private sector. in student union activism, a The Speaker also expressed comrade, I am sure that has confidence in the ability of better positioned you to pilot Obaseki and his deputy, Hon. the affairs of this state to the
required destination. I believe beyond reasonable doubt, that together, you will achieve a lot for Edo State, what has not been possible,” the Speaker added. He urged Obaseki and Shuaibu to hit the ground running and build on the achievements of former Governor Adams Oshiomhole. In another development, the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called on the National Assembly to expedite action on the Land Reform Bill presently before it, to address the 17 million housing deficit in the country. The Vice President, Mr. Somadinna Anene speaking at a press briefing said passage of the bill would ensure harnessing investment opportunities in the housing sector. “To further create awareness the chamber in collaboration with federal government is
hosting a housing summit here in Abuja today. The summit will primarily highlight the modus operandi of mortgages, and showcase opportunities in the sector,” he said. Somadina added that the summit would also provide Nigerians opportunities to explore alternative sources of income in this period of recession. “The United Nations, UN, report has estimated that Nigeria’s population would hit 289 million by the year 2050. Beyond the UN, the United States Census Bureau, also estimated that within the same period, the national population would hit 264 million, thus making Nigeria, the 80th most populous country in the world and this will greatly increase the housing need of the country,” he said.