Peter Obi Urges FG To Resolve Power Crisis Challenges

Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has called on the federal government to proffer lasting solutions to the power crisis in the country.

Obi made the call on his X handle while raising concerns about the ongoing power crisis following another collapse of the national grid.

The call came after Nigerians were plunged into a fresh round of darkness following another collapse of the national power grid.

Since January 2024 till date, the grid has collapsed 10 times, and three times in October alone.

Speaking on the issue via a statement on Wednesday via X, Obi contrasted Nigeria’s struggles with power supply to South Africa’s recent success in achieving seven months of uninterrupted electricity.

He said, “Again, yesterday the now regular news came that the National Grid had collapsed once again. Just a few days ago, on the 25th of October, South Africa that was the second-largest economy in Africa behind Nigeria until recently, with a quarter of our population, celebrated seven months of uninterrupted power supply.

“South Africa generates and distributes about 40,000 MW of electricity, while Nigeria struggles to generate and distribute just 10% of that.”

“Is there any tribe in Nigeria that enjoys uninterrupted power supply like South Africa? I am labelled a tribal bigot. When I ask if any religion enjoys special privileges in this crisis, I am called a religious bigot. But I will continue to speak the truth about our situation today,” he said.

“The fact remains that we are all suffering equally from this failure,” he said.

Obi urged Nigerians to move past “primordial sentiments” and instead focus on electing leaders who can drive the country towards development.

He said, “The fact remains that we are all suffering equally from this failure. The solution lies not in tribal or religious affiliations but in visionary leadership and a shared commitment to progress.

“We must set aside these primordial sentiments and elect leaders who are competent, capable, and have the vision to transform our nation from a consumer-driven economy to a productive one by investing our meagre resources in critical areas of development like health and education, lifting our people out of poverty, and ensuring increased electricity production and distribution.”

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Related story: Nigeria's power grid partially collapses again, causing blackouts

Nigeria s Chief of Army Staff passes away

The Chief of Army Staff, Taoreed Lagbaja, is dead. He was 56.

Mr Lagbaja, a lieutenant general, died in Lagos after a brief illness, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga wrote in a Wednesday morning statement.


“He passed away on Tuesday night in Lagos after a period of illness.

“President Tinubu expresses his heartfelt condolences to the family and the Nigerian Armed Forces during this difficult time. He wishes Lt. General Lagbaja eternal peace and honours his significant contributions to the nation,” Mr Onanuga wrote.

He was rumoured dead two weeks ago but the Defence Headquarters debunked the news, explaining that he was on leave.

A week after the rumoured death, PREMIUM TIMES reported that President Bola Tinubu appointed Olufemi Oluyede, a major general, as acting chief of army staff.

On Tuesday, Mr Oluyede was decorated with the new rank of lieutenant-general, an indication he is set to be made substantive army chief.

Lagbaja’s background

Mr Lagbaja was appointed as the army chief by President Tinubu on 19 June 2023

He was born on 28 February 1968, in Ilobu, Irepodun Local Government Area of Osun State. He lived his early life in Osogbo where he attended St Charles Grammar School and Local Authority Teachers College.

He was admitted into the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in 1987 as a member of the 39th Regular Course. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 19th September 1992 into the Nigerian Infantry Corps.

Between 1992 and 1995, Mr Lagbaja was platoon commander of the 93 Battalion. From 1995 to 2001, he was platoon commander of 72 Special Forces Battalion. In 2001, he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from the Nigerian Defence Academy. He studied Strategic Studies at the US Army War College at the Master’s level.

He was an instructor at Nigerian Defence Academy between 2001 and 2004. He was a Grade 2 Staff Officer in charge of peacekeeping at the Army Headquarters Department of Army Training and Operations. Then he was a Directing Staff at Armed Forces Command and Staff College from 2006 – 2009.

By 2009, he became Deputy Chief of Staff G1 at Headquarters 81 Division and subsequently, he became Commanding Officer at 72 Special Forces Battalion Makurdi from 2012 to 2013 and 2014 to 2015.

In 2016, he was named the Chief of Staff at Headquarters 8 Task Force Division, Monguno. He served as Director of Operations at the Army Headquarters Department of Army Training and Operations from January – December 2018. He was a Commander of Headquarters 9 Brigade, Ikeja, Lagos State and Headquarters 2 Brigade, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Before he was appointed as army chief, Mr Lagbaja was General Officer Commanding Headquarters 82 Division from March 2021 – August 2022 and Headquarters 1 Division – from August 2022 – June 2023.

Earlier in 2008, he attended the Military Observers Course on Peacekeeping Wing at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry Jaji (February – May 2008) and ECOWAS Standby Force Battalion Command Post Course – Peacekeeping Centre, Bamako, Mali – (June – August 2010).

He started his career as a second lieutenant and died as a lieutenant general, a rank he attained in September 2019

Mr Lagbaja participated in Operation HARMONY IV in Bakassi Peninsula; United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC); Operation ZAKI Internal Security Operation in Benue State; Operation LAFIYA DOLE; Operation MESA/Operation UDO KA – March 2021 – August 2022 – Internal Security Operation in South-east Nigeria (Anambra/Abia/Ebonyi/Enugu and Imo States); and Operation FOREST SANITY – Aug 2022 to 2023 – Internal Security Operation in Kaduna/Niger states.

The deceased was married to Mariya Abiodun-Lagbaja and their marriage was blessed with two children.

Mr Lagbaja is not the first army chief to die while in office.

In 2021, Ibrahim Attahiru, a lieutenant general and then chief of army staff died in a Kaduna-bound plane crash. Mr Attahiru died alongside 10 other military officers and crew.

Premium Times

Nigeria's power grid partially collapses again, causing blackouts

Nigeria's national grid suffered a partial collapse on Tuesday, the state power transmitter said, marking the ninth incident this year to have caused power outages across the country.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said the grid experienced a disturbance at around 1252 GMT, triggered by a series of line and generator trips destabilising the system.

While some regions, including the capital Abuja, regained power about an hour after the collapse, outages continued elsewhere.

"TCN engineers are already working to quickly restore bulk power supply to the states affected by the partial disturbance," spokesperson Ndidi Mbah said.

Blackouts are frequent in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country with over 200 million people, due to ageing power infrastructure, vandalism and inadequate gas supply for its thermal plants, which account for over 75% of output.

Although Nigeria has the infrastructure to generate about 13,000 megawatts of power, its creaking grid can only distribute a third of it, forcing businesses and households to run costly fuel generators. 

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters 

Related story: Nigeria's state transmission company restoring power after grid collapse

 

Nigeria president orders release of minors charged over protests

Nigeria’s president has directed that all minors detained during protests against the rising cost of living in August be freed and treason charges against them dropped, Information Minister Mohammed Idris has said.

“The president has directed that these children, these minors, be released immediately,” Idris said on Monday.

At least 76 people, including 30 minors, were charged with treason and inciting a military coup after they took part in deadly August protests against economic hardship.

The minors’ arraignment sparked public outrage and criticism of the government after they were paraded in court last Friday.

Frustration over the cost-of-living crisis has led to several protests in recent months that demand better opportunities and jobs for young people.

In August, protesters rallied in Abuja, the commercial capital Lagos and several other cities to show discontent with economic reforms that have led to rampant inflation and the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation in Nigeria.

Rights group Amnesty International said at least 22 people died during the demonstrations in clashes with security forces.

President Bola Tinubu has since vowed to pursue the changes, which he says are needed to keep the economy afloat.

In addition to the severe financial crisis, Nigerians are living with widespread insecurity that has damaged the farming sector, with armed gangs kidnapping residents and schoolchildren for ransom in the north.

Al Jazeera

Video - Nigerian protesters including minors face treason charges

Backlash has erupted in Nigeria over the detention of 30 minors, aged 14 to 17, who are among 76 people charged with treason following August protests against worsening economic conditions. Rights advocates argue that holding minors beyond 14 days violates Nigerian law. In response, President Bola Tinubu has instructed the Attorney General to review these cases, but the minors remain in custody, with a hearing set for January 24.

CGTN