Minister of Powers says erratic electricity supply will be over in December

The erratic power supply being experienced across the country will be addressed by December this year, the minister of power has said.

The minister, Professor Barth Nnaji also said that there will be moderately improved power supply by July this year and a renewed distribution model which will allow the distribution companies to promote planned distribution and have citizens informed beforehand.

He also said the Ministry of Petroleum Resources has agreed to deliver gas to power generating plants.

He also said in the next seven months, there will have been completion of some new generating plants, transmission lines and a more developed distribution pattern.

According to him, the reconstituted Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission will provide the implementation of a tariff review on June 1st which will be accompanied with a metering system.

"It will interest Nigerians to know that whereas there is a tariff of N7 per kilowatt is what is being paid now by the urban poor and rural dwellers; the new tariff rate will allow this class(R1) to pay at N4 per kilowatt"

Reeling out government medium term for power sector, the Minister said between 2013 and 2015, there would be increased power generation and transmission lines.

He also said during the period, labour force impact will be more positive and sustainable.

According to him, between 2015 and 2020, there will be increased diversification into renewable energy sources.

"This will include small and medium hydropower, solar,bio-waste to energy,coal,etc. Equally, the bulk trader becomes very prominent in this operations at this stage".

Appealing to Nigerians to be patient, the Minister said that the stage is set for monumental change in the sector.

He said given the political will the President has demonstrated on the sector, it was evident that the country would overcome the power challenges in no time.

Daily Trust

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11 killed as suicide bomber hits police convoy in Taraba

A bomb blast struck a police chief's convoy in eastern Nigeria on Monday, killing 11 people, a witness and an official said, a day after attacks in other areas killed at least 19.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing in the town of Jalingo but Islamist sect Boko Haram, which wants to carve an Islamic state out of Nigeria, has been blamed for many such previous attacks.

A string of bombings and shootings in the last five days has dampened hopes that arrests and killings of Boko Haram members by the military in recent weeks had stemmed its ability to carry out large-scale attacks in Africa's largest oil producer.

Jalingo is the capital of Taraba state, which borders Cameroon and had previously been spared the insurgency plaguing Nigeria's north.

"At least 11 people were killed and 22 people injured near police state headquarters Jalingo at 0830 (0730 GMT) when the police commissioner was on his way to office," said Ahmed Bello, a local Nigeria Red Cross official.

He said the blast happened between the state government finance office and the police headquarters.

Abubakar Moyoyo, a Jalingo businessman, told Reuters by phone he had seen 11 dead bodies at the scene.

The police commissioner, Mamman Sule, said his team were investigating whether he was the target of the attack. He confirmed three deaths and said the windscreen of his car had been shattered by the blast.

Nigerian police are often cautious over death tolls until official figures are agreed with senior officers in Abuja.

In the past year, Boko Haram has tried to extend its reach beyond its northeastern heartland, mounting attacks in and around the capital Abuja. The Jalingo strike followed two attacks on Christian worshippers in other parts of the country on Sunday that killed at least 19 people.

Reuters

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First Nigerian female pilot gets her wings

History was made in Abuja as Nigerian Air Force produced the first female military pilot in the sub-region, when Flying Officer Blessing Liman and 29 others joined the list of military officers at a well attended ceremony hosted by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar.

The training programme that included attending several courses, both within and outside the country, such as the United States, United Kingdom, Pakistan, and Egypt. Those that were winged included 14 JET Flag Officers, 8 Transport Flying Officers, and 8 Helicopter Flying Officers.

The history making officer, Blessing Liman, an indigene of Kaduna state, was born on 13 March, 1984 in Zangon Kataf and enlisted in the Nigerian Air Force in July 2011. She was commissioned on 9th December, 2011. Her outstanding performance helped her in attaining the historical height.

The leadership of the National Council for Nigerian Society (NCNS), the Presidential Adviser to the President on Ethics and Values, Mrs. Sarah Jubril and the Minister of State for Defense, Mrs. Olusola Obada led other women in celebrating the young female flying officer.

In her speech, she disclosed her awareness of the enormous responsibility on her shoulder as a record maker, but was optimistic that God would help her to live up to the expectation of the society and the Nigeria Air Force. According to her," I am going to work, with prayers, dedication and hard work, I know I will succeed."

In his speech, the Chief of Air Staff said the occasion "symbolizes our efforts towards ensuring mission oriented force development to meet the requirements of all operational engagements. To meet our pilot-production target as enumerated in our 10-Year Strategic Plan, we embarked on various initiatives including the novel idea of enlisting qualified pilots from the civil sector."

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Boko Haram attack church at Kano University - 20 confirmed dead

Attackers armed with bombs and guns opened fire at outdoor church services at a Nigerian university on Sunday, killing around 20 people as worshippers tried to flee, witnesses and officials said.

A powerful explosion and gunfire rocked Bayero University in the northern city of Kano, with witnesses reporting that two church services were targeted as they were being held outdoors on the campus.

Officials were unable to confirm casualty figures, but an AFP correspondent counted six bullet-riddled bodies near one of the two sites.

At least another dozen bodies could be seen on a roadside by the university, but the exact number was unclear.

Musical instruments and half-eaten meals could be seen at the site of one of the services.

An army spokesman confirmed the attack but could not provide a casualty toll. Lieutenant Iweha Ikedichi told AFP that it appeared the attackers used bombs and gunfire in the assault.

Witnesses said the attackers arrived in a car and two motorcycles, opening fire and throwing homemade bombs, causing a stampede. They said worshippers were gunned down as they sought to flee.

"They first attacked the open-air service outside the faculty of medicine," one witness said. "They threw in explosives and fired shots, causing a stampede among worshippers. They now pursued them, shooting them with guns. ... They also attacked another service at the sporting complex."

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, although the attack was similar to others carried out by the Islamist group Boko Haram.

Boko Haram claimed January 20 attacks in Kano, the largest city in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north, when coordinated bombings and shootings left at least 185 dead in the extremists' deadliest attack yet.

On Thursday, bomb attacks at the offices of the ThisDay newspaper in the capital Abuja and the northern city of Kaduna left at least nine people dead.

The group has previously targeted churches, including on Christmas day when at least 44 people were killed in a bombing at a church outside Abuja.

A bombing on Easter Sunday in Kaduna near a church that killed at least 41 people was a stark reminder of the Christmas attacks, but Boko Haram is not known to have claimed it.

Boko Haram's increasingly bloody insurgency has claimed more than 1,000 lives since mid-2009. Police and soldiers have often been the victims of such attacks, although Christians have been targeted as well.

It also claimed responsibility for an August suicide attack at UN headquarters in Abuja which killed at least 25 people.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation and largest oil producer, is roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and a predominantly Christian south.

Boko Haram initially claimed to be fighting for the creation of an Islamic state in Nigeria's north, but its demands and structure have become less clear in recent months.

It is believed to have a number of factions, including those with political motives as well as a hard-core Islamist wing. Criminal groups are also believed to have carried out violence under the guise of Boko Haram.

An attempt at indirect dialogue between the group and the government in March collapsed, with a mediator quitting over leaks to the media and a spokesman for the Islamists saying they could not trust the government.

President Goodluck Jonathan, during a visit Saturday to the newspaper offices in Abuja hit by Thursday's suicide attack, did not answer directly when asked whether dialogue was necessary to stop the violence.

"You may dialogue, you may not dialogue depending on the circumstances," Jonathan told reporters, adding: "But we will exploit every means possible to bring this to an end."

AFP

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Nigeria may start importing fuel from Niger Republic

Nigeria may soon start importing fuel from the Republic of Niger as the latter plans to evacuate its excess petroleum products.

Niger Republic's minister of petroleum, Mr. Foumakoye Gado, is in the country to sign the African Petroleum Producers' Association (APPA) Statute, which will make Niger become a bonafide member of the association.

Gado told journalists during the signing ceremony yesterday in Abuja that Niger's present refining capacity is 20,000 barrels of oil per day, out of which the country can only consume 7,000 barrels, an equivalent of 1.113million litres of fuel, while the excess of 13,000 barrels, an equivalent of 2.067million liters of fuel would be exported to Nigeria.

The minister who spoke through an interpreter said, "We currently refine 20,000bpd and we consume only 7,000 barrels leaving an excess of 13,000 barrels. We hope to evacuate the excess to Nigeria. That is the major reason we are here.

He said the country in 2011 signed a contract for the commercialisation of crude production, adding that a feasibility study has been concluded to commence oil exportation which would boost its crude production from the current 20,000bpd to 60,000bpd.

He adding, however, that Niger presently does not have any specific target country for its crude export, but said it would be done according to international standard.

The minister who was accompanied to the event by Niger's ambassador to Nigeria, H.E Mansourmanan H.D, explained that his country resolved to join APPA, despite being a small oil producing nation, in order to tap into the experience of other member countries and ensure that her oil prospecting is a source of blessing to the country and not a resource curse, based on lessons learnt from other countries.

While noting that the association's objective will impact on the country's technical know-how and help build local capacity, Gado said his country will ensure that oil proceed is used to accelerate development. He said the country would begin the construction of its oil export pipeline which will be routed through Cameroon in 2013, after which exportation will commence in 2014 or 2015.

The permanent secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum, Engr. Goni I. Sheikh, who represented the minister of petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, while welcoming Niger to the association, noted that signing the APPA Statute was mandatory for all member countries who wish to benefit fully from oil and gas exploration through the association's support.

He said the objectives of the association include the promotion of cooperation among member countries in hydrocarbon exploration, promotion of technical assistance, coordination of marketing policies and strategies as well as studying ways of providing assistance to the oil importing African countries to meet their energy requirement.

While expressing optimism that the opportunity will further strengthen the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Niger Republic, Sheikh added that the association operates a fund which is dedicated to financing studies and projects in the hydrocarbon and energy sector of APPA member countries.

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