Nigeria can't afford nuclear technology

The association stated that it is unaffordable and suggested that the country should consider exploring other alternatives, such as coal and solar energy, to boost power generation and not nuclear technology.

According to the Guardian, in a statement signed by the national chairman of the NIEEE, Emmanuel Akinwole, the association said that Nigeria lacks a system that promotes a maintenance philosophy to engage itself in such a high discipline project as is required by nuclear energy.

Nuclear technology is expensive

Akinwole noted that nuclear energy is expensive, adding that nations like Europe are scaling down on the use of nuclear technology due to the associated risks and costs.

He further highlighted that in the past, almost all projects of that size in Nigeria were either not completed or could not be managed and sustained.

Akinwole then recommended that focus should rather be on projects that could boost the country’s economy, which are not properly managed, including the Ajaokuta steel mills, aluminium smelting plant, Nigerian paper mills, Discos and Gencos.

He advised that the government should discard the idea of deploying nuclear technology in the generation of power for now and rather focus its resources to unlocking the approximately 5,000MW of generation capacity that is nearing completion.

150MW of power stranded

In a separate statement, during a meeting between the minister of power, works and housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola and stakeholders in the power sector, it surfaced that about 150MW of power at the Odukpani National Independent Power Plant is stranded.

The ministry's permanent secretary, Louis Edozien, instructed the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company to fast-track the distribution of the stranded power to lines and sub-stations.

However, according to the media, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited is already working on plans to distribute the stranded megawatts to customers in Calabar and Ikot Ekpene following the directive.

ESI

Nigerian government approves direct flight from Nigeria to China

The Nigerian government has granted an airliner, Air Peace, a license to operate international flights from southeast city of Enugu to China and other areas, an official said Thursday.

The recognition would open a new vista in the economy of the state, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, the state governor during the closing ceremony of the First Enugu Investment Summit.

The governor said by approving the license of the airline, President Muhammadu Buhari had shown himself as having the interest of all sections of the country at heart.

Ugwuanyi said the state would never be the same again having had a successful summit that attracted investors across the world.

"We have not only showcased the vast potentials in the state, but from reactions of participants, it does appear that we have been able to provoke an unprecedented interest from investors across the world," he added.

"The journey to economic prosperity has commenced. The light of the economic dawn that has been lit through this summit will never be allowed to die," he said.

Ugwuanyi thanked delegates who made the summit a success and pledged to create an enabling environment for interested investors.

Earlier in his presentation, the Chairman of Air Peace Ltd, Allen Onyema, said the airline would soon commence flights from the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu to China.

The chairman said it was time for Nigeria to be a hub for West and Central African sub-regions.

"President Muhammadu Buhari in his magnanimity on March 31, 2016 approved for us the right to fly to five different countries and we decided now to make Enugu State the hub," he said.

Onyema said Air Peace would fly to India, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Atlanta in the U.S. and China, adding that the China flight would commence in a few months.

"There is no other airline in West and Central Africa that flies direct to China," he added.

"We will use our airline to bring passengers from countries in West and Central Africa to Enugu and move them to China," Onyema said.

"We are going to deploy a cargo plane that will do nonstop flights to Enugu," Onyema said.

Shanghai Daily

President Buhari vows to crackdown on oil militants in the Niger Delta

Nigeria’s President Buhari has vowed to crack down on groups responsible for attacks on oil pipelines, which have contributed to a fuel shortage in the country.

Buhari made the comments during a state visit to China on Wednesday, where he has been meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping to secure support for infrastructure projects. The Nigerian president said he was aware that the country’s national grid had collapsed several times in recent weeks and threatened the “vandals and saboteurs” responsible for blowing up pipelines and oil facilities. “We will deal with them the way we dealt with Boko Haram,” said Buhari, according to a statement from the Nigerian Presidency.

The Nigerian military has regained much of the territory previously held by Boko Haram as part of a sustained offensive beginning in 2015. Buhari claimed that the armed group—which is affiliated to the Islamic State militant group (ISIS)—controlled 14 local government areas when he came to office in May 2015 but these had all now been liberated and Boko Haram’s fighting capacity had been “significantly degraded.”

There has been an uptick in attacks on oil pipelines in 2016. Three people were killed when militants blew up a pipeline, owned by Italian company ENI in the Niger Delta, Reuters reported. Two of the four refineries owned by the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) were temporarily closed in January, due to attacks, which Nigerian power minister Babtunde Fashola said were costing the country $2.4 million per day at the time. One of the refineries was reopened in March.

The Niger Delta region was plagued by militant groups such as the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) during the mid-2000s, who kidnapped oil workers and blew up pipelines in protest at what they saw as the unfair distribution of wealth. At its peak, the militancy cut oil production to 800,000 barrels per day, less than a third of the maximum 2.5 million barrels per day. Buhari has extended a multi-million dollar amnesty program—which involves the payment of monthly subsidies to ex-militants—but has ended the practice of giving militants generous contracts for pipeline protection.

The recent attacks have resulted in massive queues gathering outside gas stations as desperate Nigerians attempt to buy fuel for their vehicles. Nigeria’s petroleum minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu was recently summoned to appear before the Senate to explain how the ministry was working to solve the shortage.

Newsweek

Video - Boko Haram release video showing some of the kidnapped schoolgirls still alive

A video released by Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram appears to show some of the schoolgirls kidnapped two years ago from the town of Chibok.

The video, apparently filmed in December, was sent to the Nigerian government and shows 15 girls in black robes identifying themselves as pupils abducted from the school.

Some of those filmed have been identified by their parents.

It is the first footage of the girls to be seen since May 2014.

The kidnapping of the 276 girls triggered the global social media campaign #BringBackOurGirls, involving US first lady Michelle Obama and a host of celebrities.

But despite their efforts, most of the girls are still missing.

Meanwhile, hundreds of parents are holding a march in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to demand the government does more to find their daughters.

The BBC's Martin Patience in Abuja says they blame the previous government for doing nothing when the abduction took place and now the current administration for failing to devote enough resources to the search.

Boko Haram militants attacked the government boarding school in Borno state on 14 April 2014, seizing the girls who had gone there to take exams.

Shortly afterwards they released a video of them and demanded a prisoner exchange.

BBC

Video - China to strengthen cooperation with Nigeria

President Xi Jinping has met with the visiting Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari in Beijing. The two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation in various fields including infrastructure, agriculture, energy and trade.