Today, the House of Representatives announced it will summon the Honorable Federal Minister of Power, Prof Barth Nnaji and the Chairman, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission [NERC], Sam Amadi to appear before the House Committee on Power to explain the rationale behind the planned increase in the electricity tariff. According to information available to 247ureports.com, both men were summoned today.
As gathered, the House committee on Power reached the decision to summon the power Minister and the NERC chairman following a motion moved by Yakub Balogun [ACN, Lagos] citing a planned increase in electricity tariff. As Hon. Yakub Balogun explained, the increase in electricity will cause “untold hardship on consumers in Nigeria” The Speaker of the House of Representative, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal agreed that there was a need to invite the minister and the chairman to the house committee on power to brief them on why the increase in electricity tariff.
Official reports indicate that the electricity tariff is scheduled to increase starting from June1, 2012. The chairman of NERC, in a recent public address to private investors reechoed the need for the tariffs to be adjusted to accommodate the increased cost of producing electricity in present day Nigeria.
Sources within the National Assembly [NASS] tell our correspondent that the invitation sought by the Action Congress of Nigeria [CAN] legislator from Lagos State, Hon Balogun may have not been in true faith. It is understood that the invitation is laced in political undertones tuned a possible macabre dance. The lawmaker is said to be in preps to attempt to soil the “clean integrity” of the Power Minister and the Chairman as they face the house committee on power. “Their target is the President’s agenda on power”, said the source who serves as an aide to one of the North East legislators.
Independent inquiry by 247ureports.com into the pending increase in electricity tariff revealed the power generation in Nigeria has been in the ‘red’ for a longtime. Power has been generated at a huge financial lose to the country. Official figures show that the Power Holding Company of Nigeria [PHCN] generated monthly revenue [through electricity tariffs] of N14billion to N18billion.
In December of 2011, it recorded a high of N18billion but in January of 2012 it recorded a low of N14billion owing partially to the oil subsidy strikes and internal transfer of workers from within the PHCN to other place – resulting to an internal strike at the PHCN.
At peak performance, PHCN generates monthly revenue of N18billion. But an official source within the Ministry revealed to 247ureports.co that PHCN “cannot meet her obligations” even at sustained peak performance. “PHCN needs to generate a minimum N22.5billion monthly to break even”. Presently, the PHCN owes debts to energy companies that will require repayment.
A few of the companies which the PHCN owes include –
Shell – $78million
AGIP – N50billion
Nigeria Gas Company [subsidiary of NNPC] – N10billion
Niger Delta Power Holding Company – N6billion
Ibom Power – N300million
The debt profile is reported to be on a steady increase according to experts at the Ministry of Power. They indicate that the debt will continue to increase until the monthly revenue is increased through either hiking the electricity tariff or clogging the uncontrolled loss in revenue to recipients of electric power without a metering device. It is estimate that the PHCN loses over 40% of its revenue to non-metered electric supply.
Acting on consultative capacity, the Ministry of Power detailed to the NERC chairman of the numbers involved in the production of electricity. It is gathered that the Power Ministry does not have the constitutional powers to increase electricity tariff –according to the 2005 Power Reform Act. The power rests with the NERC which operates as an independent entity. The Chairman is appointed by the Presidency along with the 5 Commissioners of the NERC which are selected from the various geo-political zones.
The invitation to the house committee on power may not serve the two men the opportunity to express themselves – as to the need to revise the tariff charges. His is because of the growing frustration within the residents of Nigeria who is yet to see the transformation of the power sector in real terms. It is believed that the opposition within the NASS are cognizant of the frustration – and so would pander to the frustration when the two men show up.
Sudan Council of Churches, Sudan Aid in South Darfur state shuttered without explanation
SOUTH DARFUR, SUDAN – (ANS)– Compass Direct News (CDN) is reporting that security agents in Sudan’s South Darfur state have closed down the Nyala offices of the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) and relief group Sudan Aid, sources said.
CDN says that agents from the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) arrived at the organizations’ compound in Nyala at 8 a.m. on April 22, ordered SCC staff members to hand over keys of offices and vehicles and, without explanation, ordered them to leave immediately, an SCC staff worker said.
“Three staff members from Sudan Aid were arrested in the course of the closure and were taken to an undisclosed location, the source said,” the CDN story went on to say. “NISS agents also closed down a church clinic that was serving the needy in the area.
“The actions came as Christianity is increasingly regarded as a foreign faith to be excised from Sudan, which has begun transporting ethnic South Sudanese to South Sudan following the latter’s secession last year.”
An estimated 350,000 ethnic South Sudanese, many of them Christian, remain in the Islamic north, with many having never lived anywhere else. Sources told Compass the incident left churches in South Darfur, one of five states that makes up the Darfur region, deeply disturbed and frightened.
Sudanese aerial forces bombed a Sudanese Church of Christ building on March 28 in the al-Buram area of South Kordofan state, eyewitnesses from the area told Compass by phone. The sources added that life is becoming more difficult for Christians in South Kordofan as the Sudan government mobilizes Arab tribes, arming them with guns to kill the ethnic Nuba people.
When Abdulrasheed Maina was given the saddle to handle the pension task force team in the Head of Service pension office and that of the Police Pension Office, he was not aware of what he was getting into, but things began to unfold when the began. However, Abdulrasheed proper job Maina Pension Reform Task Team so far had made an immeasurable and remarkable success in their given task.
In an exclusive chat with the Chairman, Maina told this paper that so far a whooping N182 billion fraud had been uncovered with the assistance of the EFCC in pension offices across the country. The ongoing reform is yielding results according to Maina, as he said of the “N182 billion the task team in conjunction with the EFCC traced and recovered a total of about N24billion and N15 billion worth of property from some corrupt government officials in the Office of the Head of Service Pension Department. Sixty six illegal bank accounts with N180million were also discovered.”
While commending the EFCC and ICPC for their roles in achieving the feat, Maina decried the plight of pensioners before his team was inaugurated in June 2010, noting that such plight was brought about not by paucity of funds “but due to large scale corruption through diversion and mismanagement of pension fund, manipulation and falsification of data, non-improvement in the pension administrative structure, bureaucracy with poor, unreliable and inefficient accounting system.”
Among the great things done by Maina was his successful conduct of the nationwide biometric verification of pensioners and in the process detecting 71, 133 fake pensioners.
According to Maina “It’s as a result of the work carried out by the pensions reform task team that we were able to recover such colossal funds; about N182 billion. Mr. President instructed that all pensioners must be paid their benefits, the beneficiaries of those that have died must be paid their death benefits while those who have never been paid must be paid their accumulated pensions.”
“Definitely in doing that, we will step on so many toes and in trying to cleanse the system, you will have resistance. We have had this issue for over 44 years. The President has delivered on pensions and we are going to accomplish more tasks in sanitizing the pensions system in Nigeria. Pensioners from other pensions departments such as Nigerian Railways, Nigerian Airways are calling us to come and cleanse their offices. We will wait for the President’s directive as per that.”
The task team, he continued, “is a creation of the Executive arm of government and the President has not wound up the pensions reform task team yet. We have information going round that the task team has been disbanded. It has not been disbanded. We are working as directed by the President and he has ordered us to ensure that pensioners are paid as at when due.”
He said the team had built an institution, which would continue to function even if he (Maina) left office. “It’s not only if I’m here that things will work. We have developed an e-pension solution. In the past, we have seen how pensioners were dying in the office of the Head of Service (HOS) and how they used to live under the bridges in Abuja.”’
In the executive summary given to the this paper, Maina highlighted a lot of things in their 19 months of operation which the Team has achieved, this includes recovered and saved over N182bn for the FG, mopping up N74 bn from the PRTT recovered funds for 2012 budget and this was attested to during the senate hearing. Other successes recorded include deletion of 71,135 Ghost/under aged pensioners from the office of the Head of Service Pension office, stopped monthly stealing of N4.25b from the OHCSF Pension office and also cut off N1 billion Police Pension Monthly releases from N1.59 billion to N500 million. Moreover more successes include the N19.3 billion police pension scam that led to arrest of a permanent Secretary and five others.
In their continuing effort report from Maina indicates it was not easy, but a lot was achieved as a total of 44,320 pensioners that had never been enrolled for pension most of them retired for over 35 years and the task team paid all their entitlements including accrued arrears. Other successes recorded include traced and cracked down on pension cartel and getting to the root of the pension scam in the country, while many properties belonging to pension syndicates seized by the EFCC were followed with their prosecution.
In the reformation of pension in the country, Maina said that “128,000 hard copies of OHCSF pensioners’ files had been put into electronic format, even as they detected a fraud of over N2.7b perpetrated by the National Union of Pensioners.”
“There has been also the e-pension Management System platform (e-pms) with 4 pension offices on the platform now, simplified the procession period of getting pension entitlements from 3 months in the past to now 24 hours and creating a system that will put a stop to reoccurring verification of pension which has created undue suffering to the pensioners. This was made possible through the use of Smart Card,” Maina said in his report.
Meanwhile the Senate Committee on Pension headed by Senator Aloysius and Gaya respectively has been fighting the Maina Team. DESERT HERALD’s findings revealed that part of the reasons why the Senate was fighting Maina is that when they went to the Office of the Head of Service Pension office and Police pension office and even several pension offices in the country demanding hundreds of millions of Naira to facilitate their hearing and met a brick wall as the pension offices they visited told them no as they were informed that Maina Task Force Team had blocked all accounts of the various pension offices. So with the release not given, they sought and threatened to deal with Maina and no wonder they were calling for his head rather than appreciating what he has done, like their counterparts in the House of Representatives.
It will be recalled that the House of Representatives has called for the Pension Reform Task Team to be retained as a “Standing Pension Reform Task Team” which President Goodluck Jonathan could deploy at any given moment to solve peculiar “knotty” cases across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
This statement was contained in a letter presented by the Chairman of the House Committee on Pensions, Hon. Ibrahim Bawa Kamba, to the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Isa Bello Sali.
Kamba, who commended President Jonathan’s Pension Reforms through the Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, described the Pension Reform Task Team as “a credible vehicle” for the pension reform agenda.
He said: “This is the resultant effect of the follow-up to the just concluded on-the-spot assessment of the Pension Reform Task Team both at home and in the Diaspora, which took the House Committee delegation to Nigerian Consulate at New York on April 5, 2012, to verify the Diaspora biometrics data-capturing efforts of the Pension Task Team and for confirmation of records.”
Moreover in the report this paper gathered that these syndicates useed Primary School teachers, Minors, Secondary school teachers, farmers, underage; they recruit like in a state one thousand, two thousand, and five thousand and so on. “So they will go in and open bank accounts for them and they channeled these funds into their accounts and at the end of the month each person will take ten percent of that money and they return the rest to the people. They also have connivance with the banks. Another method they used was when a pensioner is alive the colour of his file is green, when he dies it is now red, now Guarantee period is five years because we are operating pay as you go scheme until the last pensioner dies. So what they do is they will take file and say this pensioner dies in active service, he has not collected his pension, so they will now calculate the death gratuity and five years pension in block maybe say eight million and they will pay and then they will take that same file and remove the cover and make it green, the person is now alive again and they put him on pay roll. And they will start collecting money and after collecting money they will put him on pay roll that he has just retired, so they will collect gratuity again, and enroll him on pension and after sometimes they will take the file and put it on red and now they say the man is dead.
Another issue which was also said to have been dismissed by Maina was also the rumours making rounds that the team has been disbanded by President Goodluck Jonathan. Maina said the committee was still intact carrying out its responsibilities.
Benue State Governor, Right Honourable Gabriel Torwua Suswam has commissioned the State Command office complex of the anti-drug Agency renovated by the State government. The Governor and Chairman/Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ahmadu Giade also led other stakeholders in the public destruction of 4,730.085kg of cannabis in Makurdi, the Benue State Capital.
Suswam said that the State Government renovated the dilapidated office to provide a befitting work environment for an effective war on narcotics. “ We must stem the drift of youths in drug abuse because it is depleting our farming population. The link between drug control and a secured society is very crucial that the responsibility should not be left to the NDLEA alone. The federal government and relevant authorities must see to the proper funding of the NDLEA” Suswam stated.
The NDLEA boss who was overwhelmed by the new face of the renovated office thanked the governor for his intervention. “Let me express my heartfelt gratitude to His Excellency, Governor Suswam for his sterling role in the drug war. The high level support the Agency enjoys from the State is nonpareil and commendable. Providing a suitable work environment for the officers will further enhance their capacity”.
officials setting drugs ablaze in makurdi
Giade urged other governors to partner with the Agency because the NDLEA cannot win the battle alone. He stressed the importance of surveillance aircrafts to effectively monitor cannabis cultivation in the country. According to Giade,“if drug syndicates are adamant, we must sustain our counter measures at all times. The Agency requires surveillance aircrafts to halt cannabis cultivation”.
Giade noted that Benue State is known as the food basket of the nation but some few criminally minded persons are diverting arable land into cannabis cultivation. “The Agency will resist any attempt to derail the enviable agricultural status of the State. The Agency looks forward to the acquisition of surveillance aircrafts to detect cannabis plantations in virgin forests across the country”.
NDLEA Benue State Commander, Mrs Chinyere Obijuru in her welcome address stated that the command is saddled with enormous responsibility of controlling the huge appetite of youths in the State for illicit drugs. According to Obijuru, “a major drug challenge for the Agency in the State is how to control the huge appetite for the consumption of cannabis and alcohol by the teeming youth population. The renovated office will encourage us to work harder”.
Illicit drug control programmes are significant to avert damage to the image of the country, prevent food insecurity, unemployment, poor health conditions resulting from drug use, school dropout, broken marriages, laundering of proceeds of drug sales, violent crimes, general insecurity as well as loss of lives and property.
In line with the National Drug Control Master Plan (NDCMP), the Agency promised to engage stakeholders particularly the judiciary in drug control programmes geared towards the enforcement of stipulated punishment as contained in the NDLEA Act. It however warned the general public that unlawful possession of narcotics attracts 15 years minimum imprisonment.
Another strategy to reduce the drug problem is to improve capacity in the area of drug demand reduction. “We hope to intensify advocacy programmes aimed at addressing predisposing factors like ignorance, greed and peer influence among others. Our target groups include school students, commercial transport workers, unemployed youths and farmers association” the NDLEA boss stressed.
Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has approved an additional N100 million naira for the state Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to enable it pursue vigorously its micro credit programme.
Dr. Uduaghan who made the announcement during the inauguration of the newly elected chairman and members of CAN in Asaba said by this development the association would have a total of N150 million to work with.
He explained that he took this step because of the impressive progress recorded by the body when it disbursed the N50million loan granted it by the state government.
He also said that his administration decided to assist the body with more funds to enable it improve on its empowerment scheme and improve the living standard of more Deltans.
“The Christian body is trusted and this is why I agreed to assist their micro credit scheme with 50 million naira loan and I am increasing it now by 100 million to enable them empower more people, ”Governor Uduaghan said.
The governor also approved additional 100 pilgrimage slots for CAN thereby making the number of slots reserved for the body to be150 explaining that the gesture was to appreciate the importance of spiritual pilgrimage in the scheme of things.
Governor Uduaghan recalled the role CAN played in the return of peace to the state and advised Deltans to eschew ethnic hatred and live peacefully with their neighbours.
“We live in a very sensitive state as such we should be mindful of what we say to avoid sensitizing Deltans on ethnic hatred, ”he said, adding, “We must be conscious of ethnic hatred and hatred for each other. We must pray against the spirit of hatred”.
Speaking after administrating the relevant oath of office on the newly elected Delta state chairman and members of CAN, the South-South chairman of CAN, Apostle Godfrey Numbere urged them to improve on the achievements of the out going executive led by Arch-Bishop God do-well Awomakpa.
He advised CAN leadership in the state to be loyal, maintain their dignity in the society and relate mutually with government saying “if you go cap in hand to government, you will lose your respect”.
Explaining further, he reminded CAN that their first responsibility was to win souls for Christ and advised those saddled with leadership to emulate biblical leaders by consulting God through the Church before taking critical decisions.
Apostle Numbere charged CAN to inspire Christians and lead them rightly so that they can make heaven saying, “You should not teach Christians to be dependent on money but on the Gospel of the kingdom of God”.
In his acceptance speech the new CAN chairman in the state Rev. Gideon Oyibo thanked the national and South-South executive council of CAN for ensuring a transparent election which led to his emergence as chairman.
He promised that the new executive will do its best to build on the foundation laid by the out-going state executive.
Rev. Oyibo charged Christians to look beyond their different denominations and focus on God to build a united CAN in the state.
“We should not be sectional centered, let us look beyond our denomination and focus on God to build a united CAN in the State,” he said.
He pledged his exco’s commitment in partnering with the state government, traditional institution, security operatives and other stakeholders to ensure peace and security and build a better state.
The people of Bayelsa state who were affected as a result of Gas
explosion, oil spill and fire at K.S. Endeavor Rig between 16th
January and March 2, 2012 in some communities have demanded N3 billion
each from Chevron Nigeria Limited.
The Managing Partner of Lex Juris LP Barristers, Solicitors,
Arbitrators and Legal consultants , Jide Okunoye Esq. said in view of
monumental losses Chevron activities have caused his clients demand
for immediate clean up of the entire waterways, creeks and rivers
adjoining his clients’ communities in an environmentally friendly way
to free it of any trace of crude oil.
According to Barrister Jide Okunoye, Chevron Nigeria Limited,
should affect the payment of sum of 2 Billion Naira to each of the effected community for the untold damages – and an additional the sum of 1 Billion naira for inconveniences, injurious affection and loss
of income.
On economic consequences of the spill on the communities, the law firm
averred that since the incidence of 16th January 2012, fish catch has
reduced dramatically leading to unemployment and loss of income,
stressing that nets and fishing gear worth billions of naira were
damaged beyond repairs by the crude oil.
It will be recalled that on Monday 27th February 2012, President
Goodluck Jonathan visited the scene of the explosion and ordered
immediate compensation to affected communities.
Due to negligence, seventeen [17] executives of Chevron in Brazil were
charged to court over the spill in 2011. Prosecutors
accused the executives of environmental crimes, of misleading Brazil’s
oil regulator about safety plans and providing inaccurate
information in the wake of the spill. In addition to the charges, an
addition fine of $32.4 million was slapped on the company.
PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN RECEIVING THE REPORT OF 2011 HAJJ FROM SULTAN OF SOKOTO AND LEADER OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DELEGATION TO THE HAJJ, ALHAJI SA'AD ABUBAKAR TODAY TUESDAY AT THE STATE HOUSE IN ABUJA
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has urged the Nigeria Inter Religious Council, NIREC, as the umbrella body of the two major religions in the country, to take a united position to commend or condemn positive or negative actions and utterances of groups and individuals that may threaten the peace of the nation.
President Jonathan said such joint action would show the teeming adherents of both religions, especially the youth, that there was unity and love among their leaders.
The President was speaking to members of the executive committee of the Nigerian Inter Religious Council, NIREC, at State House, Tuesday.
He acknowledged the security challenges confronting the country, but said government would continue to do its best, adding that this was a passing phase in the nation’s development.
President Jonathan assured NIREC that Government would continue to consult with them and seek their advice as necessary.
Earlier, NIREC submitted recommendations to President Jonathan about various national issues in the country.
The NIREC executive was led to State House by the Co-Chairmen, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III and Christian Association of Nigeria president, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor.
The emergence of Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura as the third executive Governor of Nasarawa State is one episode that will continue to linger on the minds of the people of Nasarawa State.
This is because twelve years after democratic dispensation the state had never witness considerable transformation an act that is achieved barely one year of Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Maura’s administration.
Soon after his assumption of duty as Governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura inspected all abandoned and ongoing projects as well as other government facilities with a view to indentifying the quality of job done for improve completion.
Apart from inspection of government facilities, the Governor had in the first instance identified some of the immediate key needs of the state which include absence of portable water, epileptic power or total absence of electricity as well as lack of access roads within the state capital.
The Governor immediately provided the required inputs in the water sector and behold water began to flow in every parts of the state; this was achieved within one month in office.
The power in 100 days initiative programme of Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura is one practical programme that has save the people of Nasarawa State from epileptic power supply to a well improve distribution of electricity across the State through provision of assorted transformers and other electricity inputs to actualise the programme.
Now the people of Nasarawa State have every reason to celebrate this initiative of Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, the messiah of our time.
The Governor awarded contract for the construction of asphalt access roads within the state capital as parts of effort to give the state capital a new face lift.
These include 4Km Kurikyo road, 1.4km Alkali road street and 1km Ministry of information Ado Muazu road thereby giving the total the cost of over Five Hundred and Forty Two Million Naira (N542,000,000:00).
Other roads awarded for construction include 900m Abdul-Shitu-Ministry of Information-Kurikyo road junction and Abdulkura Street at the cost of One Hundred and Thirty Eight Million Naira (N138, 000,000:00).
The 4.8km Lafia East-Government House-NADP Quarters towards Makon-Giji Shendam road junction and 1.2km peoples Bank-new market roads as well as the 1.5km Agwai junction Anguwan Nungu junction was also awarded at cost of 1.3billion Naira.
Most of the roads have been completed while others are 80% completed.
Apart from the construction of access roads within the state capital the Governor also procured assorted earth moving equipment which has since being distributed to the three Senatorial zones of the state to open up roads within the local Government headquarters and entire villages, work has commenced in earnest and the rural people are happy with this golden initiative of Governor Al-Makura.
In order to revitalise the transport system of the State, Governor Al-Makura purchased 40 new brand buses and 100 Keke- NAPEP as well as provision of traffic light at strategic junctions within the state capital to ease transport and traffic challenges.
For the first time in Nasarawa State parent’s heave a sign of relief as Government upset both WAEC and NECO fees of all students in Government Schools.
The Government did not stop at that but also awarded contract for the construction and renovation of Primary and post Primary Schools inclusive of special schools for the physically challenge persons in the three Senatorial Zones of the State.
The signing of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the state government and National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) which will also avail students the opportunity to acquire some technical knowledge for the production of other facilities. This is another milestone achieved in the education sector.
Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura has virtually touched every sector positively as farmers now have easy access to fertilizer and other agricultural inputs. The completion and commissioning of Lafia modern market as well as renovation of Karu International market truly shows that the man, Governor Al-Makura is a messiah sent to salvage the people of Nasarawa State.
It may interest the reader of this piece to note that before this administration came on board.
The previous government of Aliyu Akwe Doma usually access an over draft of about Eight Hundred and Fifty Million Naira to argument payment of salaries.
But on assumption of duty, Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura commenced payment of salaries without over draft and prudently save over 4.7billion naira within six month of his administration through cutting cost and prudent management of resources.
Research has shown that what Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura has achieve within one year in office, the 12 years of previous administration in the state could achieve 50% of that one year achievement.
The achievements of Governor Al-Makura are practical evidential achievements that you can touch, feel and enjoy for improve living standard.
But, contrary to 247 report, an internet base media organization who ignorantly and mischievously reported issues that are either belated or being over-taking by event, may be, the writer is not well informed about the true happenings in Nasarawa State.
Lets even examine the 247 mischievous report to determine how the writer fooled himself as the least educated man in Nasarawa State today knows that changes has come because he can fell it.
The six major point enumerated by the writer refers:
a) Erection of a 3 arm zone at the state capital.
b) Free medical programme for the disadvantaged.
c) Construction of special school for the physically challenge.
d) Construction of 3km roads at each local area.
e) Making each ministry and school information technology (ICT) complaint
f) Construction of Mino rail to connect Nasarawa State to FCT
With no apologies to the management and staff of 247 media organization to go back to the basics of mass communication and identify themselves with ethics and values of the profession which in strong terms emphasised balancing of reports to achieve fairness.
May be, the writer does not know what it means three arm zone that has already been actualise long before now.
The government House, Assembly and the Judiciary which represent the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary are already situated in the right direction, so what is the writer talking about.
The free medical programme was one of the earliest programmes achieved by this administration three consecutive times, where was the 247 reporter.
The Governor has already approve construction of three special schools for the physically challenge persons in the three senatorial district.
Construction of alphate roads within Lafia the state capital are obviously represented while that of local government headquarters and development areas has since been commenced.
The Minister for transport has already promised to connect Nasarawa State to Abuja through the mono rail.
May I invite the management of 247 to come to Nasarawa state on my bill to feel the fresh air we have been enjoying since the assumption of Governor Al-Makura barely one year ago.
I can bet with my last drop of blood, that Al-Makura cannot spend a whooping sum of N915m to celebrate May Day, considering his prudent nature, instead, he will rather sink the money in projects that have direct bearings on the life of the common man.
On the squabbles between the Assembly and the Executive is a normal activity everywhere, let me borrow a leaf from Governor Al-Makura who always said that it is Democracy in action.
247 started on the bad note and that kills credibility.
From Zeenatu Yakubu, millionaires quarters, Lafia Nasarawa State.
The New Direction: A Reflection On Nigeria’s Electric Power Sector Development
Public Lecture by Professor Bart Nnaji, CON, NNOM, FAS,
Honourable Minister of Power, organised by the Nigerian Academy of Science on Thursday, May 10, 2012, at Ritz Continental Hotel, Abuja.
It is always a delight to be in the midst of the nation’s most engaging scholars and scientists who make up the Nigerian Academy of Science. Much as I left academia years ago, I have strong nostalgic feelings of research, teaching and publishing. If not for the strong desire to help find a solution to the debilitating electric power crisis in Nigeria, I certainly would have remained in the academic community to this day. Scholarship is the world’s noblest profession. My paper here is primarily meant to share with you my experience as a scholar who has been in government since June, 2010, charged with the task of providing constant and quality electricity to the Nigerian people. Nigeria’s socioeconomic development rests squarely on the resolution of the power challenge.
Our dear county has for decades suffered an acute power crisis for a number of reasons. The most critical of these factors is the law vesting in the Federal Government the monopoly of the ownership and management of the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power. This law naturally stifled initiative, creativity and growth. For instance, Nasco, a well known manufacturing conglomerate in the Middle Belt of Nigeria, was generating and supplying power efficiently in Jos, Plateau State, until someone reminded the authorities that only the state-owned power utility, National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), had the power to supply electricity to the public. Nasco was thus compelled to discontinue power supply. The result was that electricity supply in Jos became as epileptic as the rest of the country.
THE NEW DIRECTION IN ELECTRICITY DEVELOPMENT
Fully conscious of the profound dangers inherent in monopoly in any sector of the economy, the Electric Power Sector Reform Act was enacted in 2005. The Act brought to an end both the Federal Government monopoly in the sector and NEPA, which was replaced with the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and was scheduled to exist for only 18months ; on the PHCN ashes emerged 18 successor companies, comprising six generation companies, one transmission company and eleven distribution firms. The 2005 Power Reform Act also provides that all these PHCN successor companies be privatized except the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which will remain state-owned, but run by a firm with a robust record of efficient and effective management. To ensure that things are done in conformity with the law and in the overriding public interest in the newly liberalized and competitive environment, the ESPR Act( 2005) created the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The full implementation of the reform was, however, suspended along the line. The operation of the Rural Electrification Agency, for instance, was put in abeyance even though it is a creation of the law. The NERC leadership was dissolved and replaced with a sole administrator, a position unknown to the law. The consequence was the cessation of capital which had been flowing into the power sector in response to its liberalization and the creation of an appropriate regulatory framework and environment.
President Godluck Jonathan did the right thing when no sooner he assumed duties in 2010 as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria than he resumed the implementation of the Power Reform Act in earnest, in addition to some steps to make Nigeria leapfrog in its electricity development. He approached the National Assembly for the approval of a 57billion naira supplementary bill, so as to pay the 47,000 PHCN employees monetized benefits owed them since 2003. He set up the Presidential Action Committee on Power (PACP), the highest decision making organ for the electricity sector, with himself as the chairman and ministers and heads of agencies whose offices deal directly and indirectly with power development as members. He also established the Presidential Task Force on Power to operationalise the PACP decisions.
Arising from a comprehensive interpretation of EPSR Act, a Road Map for Power Sector Reform was drawn up which President Jonathan launched in Lagos on August 26, 2010, to the applause of the Nigerian people and the admiration of the international community. The Road Map calibrates the sector’s development up to 2015, complete with timelines. The targets have not been met as we would have liked, but the strategic objective remains incontestable—in fact, inviolate. The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) will privatise seventeen PHCN successor companies this year; Manitoba Hydro International of Canada has just won the bid for the management of the 18th firm, that is, Transmission Company of Nigeria. The attainment of 40,000Megawats by 2020 to enable Nigeria to become one of the 20 largest world economies in eight years’ time may, after all, not be a mirage or wishful thinking. To generate this quantum of power will require investments of 100billion dollars during this period, with 35% going to generation alone. This humungous capital outlay is not available to the Nigerian government, which is battling with all kinds of competition for financial resources. Nor is it available in the country. This amount is available in the international capital markets.
SOME MILESTONES
To keep the integrity of the ESPR Act, the government has restored the Rural Electrification Agency to its full and statutory status. It is now headed by a Managing Director, not a Sole Administrator. To critics who wonder if there is a need for an agency like the REA, it is appropriate to bring to their knowledge that there are about 2,000 communities in Nigeria without electricity. There were about 1097 REA projects at various stages of completion when the agency went into limbo in 2009 following a reported N5.2 billion fraud. Besides, contractors executing REA projects are owed N3.4 billion, with some of them now dead and others in penury; some have lost their properties used as collateral to obtain bank loans.
The Bulk Electricity trader has been set up, with the Chief Executive and Board of Directors appointed. The Bulk trader exists to provide confidence and comfort to power generation companies to produce as much electricity as they can right, fully aware it will be paid for. The distribution firms, which purchase power from the generation companies, are not yet creditworthy, and the Bulk Trader will continue to operate until the distribution firms become creditworthy. The World Bank is providing Partial Risk Guarantee to the Bulk Trader.
The NERC leadership has since been reconstituted, in conformity with the 2005 Reform Act. This reconstitution has gone a long way to inspire international investor confidence in Nigeria, as a country governed by the rule of law. The United States Exim Bank, which toward the end of last year signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Power for $1.5b credit to Nigerian firms operating in the power sector, is willing to review the facility to $2.5b. This is quite interesting. The US Exim bank facility to the whole of Sub Sahara Africa in 2010 was $1.4b, out of which only $200m came to Nigeria. Yet, between $1.5b and$2.5b is coming to Nigeria’s power sector this time.
General Electric, the world’s largest electricity company, has signed an MOU with the Federal Ministry of Power to help provide 10,000MW and even take up between 10 and 15% equity in new generation companies. GE has for several years sold equipment and parts to Nigerian firms, but it has never invested in our country. Therefore, the equity it is taking up represents a paradigm shift and a vote of confidence in the Power reform.
Following in the GE footsteps is Siemens of Germany which in April, 2012, signed an MoU with the Ministry of Power to assist provide 10,000MW and invest in equities in new power stations. It will, in addition, build a service station in Nigeria within 18months, lead a pilot study on the integration of renewable and traditional forms of energy, etc.
The Daewoo Corporation of South Korea and Electrobras of Brazil are among the new world class companies keenly interested in participating in the power sector following opportunities created by the reform.
The unprecedented international interest is not quite surprising. When the BPE called in 2010 for Expressions of Interest (EoIs) in respect of the 17 PHCN successor companies slated for privatization, no one expected more than 80 EoIs, but as many as 331 EoIs were received. The EoIs came from highly respected companies across the world. It was not easy for the BPE to shortlist 205 out of 331 EoIs. $20,000 was paid for each of the 152 which eventually made the pre-qualification list. The bids for the privatization of 17 out of the 18 PHCN successor companies will be submitted in July, 2012, the evaluation done in August and the result announced in September . The handover of the ownership and management of the companies will be performed later in October. This will mark a turning point in the development of electricity in our country. In the same manner, I am pleased to state that one of the Independent Power Producers (IPPS) will start commercial operations from the third quarter of this year. It will really be a new day in Nigeria.
LEARNING FROM THE VODAFONE MISTAKE
Both local and foreign investors are keenly interested in the Nigerian power sector because they want to avoid the Vodafone mistake. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo pleaded severally with Vodafone of the United kingdom, the world’s biggest mobile phone operator, to invest in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector when the GSM licenses were about to be issued in 2011, but it refused because of our country’s undeserving risk profile in the international scene. The refusal left the room for smaller operators like MTN and Econet to have a field day. When Sir Christopher Gent, the Vodafone chairman, was retiring in 2003 and was asked his greatest regret, he quickly answered that it was not investing in Nigeria’s telecoms market. The return on investment in Nigeria’s telecom market is such that Nigeria is now MTN’s cash cow in the whole of Africa and the Middle East. No wonder, Bharti Telecoms of India paid a whopping $10.6b in March, 2010, to acquire Zain operations in Africa, with the Nigerian market as the investment destination. If the telecoms sector—which used to have a mere 400,000 telephone lines in 2001 but now has about 93million registered lines following the liberalization of the sector—could do so well, we can only imagine what will happen to the much bigger power sector soon.
CAPACITY EXPANSION
When President Jonathan assumed office in 2010, Nigeria was generating about 2,800MW. But in April of the following year, the quantum of available power had moved to 3,800MW, a record 1,000MW addition in one year. All 3,800MW was put on the national grid. Interestingly, when Nigeria produced 3,800MW for the first time—in August, 2010– and attempted to have it on the national grid, it resulted in a system failure. The transmission infrastructure was too fragile to wheel this quantum of power. In other words, between August 2010 and April 2011, we had carried out considerable repairs and general improvements in the system, as we had also done in the distribution network. Between 2009 and 2011, Nigeria used to experience an average of four system failures every month, but between last December and February, 2012, there was no system failure at all. System collapsed for the first time this year in March the present water and gas shortage problem developed. By the first week of January, 2012, when Nigeria achieved an all-time generation record of 4,400MW, the transmission infrastructure was able to transport this quantum of power from the points of generation to areas of consumption. In readiness of the impending dramatic increase in power generation, President Jonathan has approved the building of a 765kv Super Grid, which will see more than a doubling of the present capacity of the transmission lines which currently consist of 132kv and 332kv lines. Construction work on this state of the art infrastructure will start early next year.
NEW SOURCES OF POWER
Nigeria is truly hungry for electric power. Our maximum output of 4,400MW is grossly inadequate. Ours is a nation of 167m people. South Africa, a nation of 47million people, generates 47,000MW, which interestingly has since 2008 proved insufficient. As you know, South Africa has the world’s largest 20th economy. Brazil, another emerging economy with a population of 194m, generates about 135,000MW. In terms of per capita power capacity measured in watts|person, Nigeria’s record is anything but inspiring. It is 29 watts|person. Compare this figure with Brazil’s 490watts|person or America’s 2,900watts|person or India’s 110watts|person. Even neighbouring Ghana has a superior record because it has 1,800MW for its 21milion people which amounts to 85watts|person. To state the obvious, per capita power capacity is an indicator of a country’s economic performance.
The good news is that a number of power plants are being built across the country. So also are transmission substations and transmission lines, as well as distribution facilities. The Federal Government alone is building 10 power plants plus transmission lines and substations under the National Independent Power Project (NIPP). What is more, hydro stations are to be built at Zungeru, Mambilla andGurara. State governments, which have now been permitted to generate and distribute power, are also building. Nigerian and foreign businesses are not left out. Not to be forgotten is that there are a number of abandoned dams in the country; we hope to generate electricity from some of them, ranging from 1MW to 10MW, which will be domiciled in their respective localities, instead of being on the national grid.
We are going beyond the traditional sources of generating power in Nigeria, which are hydro and thermal sources. The Federal Government is leading the effort to build three coal-fired stations to be located in Enugu, Gombe and Kogi states, with each producing 1,000MW. We may need to remind critics that coal is the biggest source of power in the United States and South Africa, among other places. What is more, Nigeria’s coal is of the highest quality worldwide because, among other properties, it has little sulphur content. As part of the diversification programme, a 10MW wind farm is about to be completed in Katsina state. Studies are already being conducted on how we can make greater use of renewable energy, especially with the initial cost of building solar power facilities declining from 400% above the cost of building a gas-fired power facility of the same size to 150% .
HUMAN CAPACITY BUILDING IN THE POWER SECTOR
Ladies and gentlemen, I regret to observe that the power sector is faced with severe manpower shortage in both quantity and quality. The PHCN stopped staff recruitment years ago, despite increasing retirements, etc. The Benin Transmission Region, for instance, has only one climber called linesman; he will soon retire because linesmen are not allowed to climb towers on attaining the age of 45. It is, indeed, regrettable that the PHCN stopped since 1989 its famous structured staff training. Under this training scheme, a fresh Engineering graduate would first go to the Staff Training School in Surulere, then to the training facility in Ijora and finally to the Training School in Kainji where he or she would decided to specialize in Engineering or Transmission or Generation or Distribution.
As an Engineering Professor, I have a duty to address the present anomaly. The National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) established in 1989 is now being given its pride of place. Some NAPTIN’s training facilities across the country will be commissioned this year by my humble self and the Minister of State for Power. Since its establishment three years ago, NAPTIN had been conducting only short term courses called modules for the PHCN staff. We have changed the situation considerably. NAPTIN is in the process of admitting 500 graduate engineers who will be trained for one year to make them proper power professionals. NAPTIN should go for excellence. The rapidly expanding power sector is in great need of human capital. After all, the Indian Power Training Institute, established in 1965, has trained one million and seventy five thousand power professionals from all over the world, including Nigeria. It runs respected Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes. As has been said times without number, the greatest asset of any nation is its human capital. Countries and territories like Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea have practically no mineral deposits, yet they have become economically and technologically advanced.
STAFF WELFARE AND LABOUR ISSUES
This administration , in recognition of the primacy of the human capital in the power sector development, takes staff welfare seriously. I had earlier spoken of how the President, on coming to power, quickly made available N57b to the PHCN to pay its 47,000 employees their monetized benefits which were denied them since 2003 when the Obasanjo government introduced the monetization policy. Last June, the President approved a 50% increase in the PHCN staff salary, and went ahead to provide a N9billion grant to enable the company to start paying for the increase. As you are listening to this lecture, thousands of PHCN staff members who have for several years been working as casual employees are collecting letters converting them to the permanent staff with retroactive effect. As early as last year, the President had graciously approved the setting aside for only the PHCN staff a certain percentage of shares of the 17 PHCN successor companies scheduled for privatization.
As Nigeria presses ahead with its power sector reform, the Jonathan Administration is eager to resolve all outstanding labour issues. There are three of such issues, namely, payment of the retirement or severance package; realignment of the existing pension scheme, which is poorly funded, with the 2005 Pension Reform Act which requires public sector employees to operate accounts with the new pension fund administrators; as well as the choice of the body to be responsible for the payment of existing PHCN retirees, considering that the available resources will dry up within one year.
TARIFF REVIEW
There is a tariff review this year, in accordance with the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO), as contained in the EPSR 2005 Act of 2005. This review does not necessarily imply a tariff increase. In the tariff order coming into effect from June 1, 2012, the urban poor and rural dwellers called R1 will not have to pay higher. In fact, they will be paying less in one or two areas. Instead of seven naira per kilowatt hour, they will be paying four naira. They will no longer pay meter maintenance charge. The RI customers are those who consume 50kilwatt hour or less. R2 customers, who belong to the middle class, will be paying only an additional 11% increase, and not 88% higher which was widely reported in the media earlier in the year. The government has provided for a N60b subsidy in this year’s budget and a N50b subsidy in next year’s budget. There will be cross subsidy from 2014. This administration and, indeed, every government in the world have a moral responsibility to protect the weak and poor in our midst. It is important to clarify here the difference between subsidy on petroleum products and subsidy on electricity usage. While that of electricity is production which is designed to enhance socioeconomic progress, that of petroleum products is consumption subsidy. It is also important to point out that unlike the petroleum subsidy, there is no cash involvement in electricity subsidy. The latter subsidy merely shields the poor from high payment.
The R3 customers who are rich consumers will notice a substantial increase in tariff, though not up to the fabled 88%. Different studies have shown that Nigerians are willing to pay a little higher if only they are assured of regular and quality power. Paying a little higher for electricity is far cheaper than the cost of self generation, to say nothing about noise pollution and emission of carbon monoxide which has led to whole families being wiped out in their sleep.
THE CURRENT SETBACKS
Electricity supply had been on the ascent from the last quarter of last year until it dipped in the first week of March, this year. The reason for the sudden change was two-fold: the low levels of water in the dams supplying water to the hydro stations at Kainji, Jebba and Shiroro and the non availability of gas to fire the thermal stations at Egbin, Omotosho, Geregu, Sapele, Ughelli and Olorunshogo. It is our tough luck that we are having the lowest water levels in the dams in 10 years. There was a poor rainy season last year in neighbouring West African countries. You see, there are two flood seasons in Nigeria during which water is harvested for the hydro stations. One is called black flood, and it refers to water from neighbouring countries like Mali. This flood gets to its zenith in November every year. White flood, on the other hand, refers to water derived from the Nigerian territory, and it reaches its peak in July. Hydro plants account for 30% of our power output. With the rainy season now setting in, there will soon be capacity recoveries at the plants which generate about 1,200MW.
The major cause of the ongoing power crisis is, of course, gas non availability. The gas issues arose principally from poor coordination in the past between the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the agencies under them. Hence, power stations were built without pipelines. There is, in addition, the question of pipelines being available but no molecules in them. To worsen the situation, g as was for long supplied to the PHCN at the incredibly low price of four cents per standard cubic feet. The gas price has now been increased to one dollar per scf in order to incentivize investment in the gas sector. Paying for gas and power supplies, however, has remained a Herculean task for the PHCN because it has been charging electricity consumers a commercially sustainable tariff. The PHCN is currently owing Agip N60b, Shell $78m, Nigerian Gas Company N10b, NIPP N6b and Ibom Power N300m. With a new tariff coming into force on June 1, the PHCN should now be able to pay for gas and power supplies promptly. (The NNPC is owed N110b by various customers, including governments and their agencies which account for 20% of the debt).
Ladies and gentlemen, I am glad to announce that with effect from this month, the NGC, an NNPC subsidiary, will start to increase gas supply to the thermal stations. By December, it will rise to three times the quantity of gas currently made available to the plants. This will mean a tremendous improvement in electricity supplied to the Nigerian people. Still, it will not be enough for the technical capacity we have developed for the power sector. This will be reminiscent of the situation in January, this year, when we developed the capacity to generate 5,500MW, but supplied only 4,400MW because of gas constraints.
CONCLUSION
I would like to assure this distinguished audience and the Nigerian people that once power supply begins to pick up this time, it will not be reversible. The tremendous work done by the Jonathan administration in the power sector has not manifested well because the gestation period in the sector is fairly long. Put succinctly, things can only get better. Far-sighted Nigerian and international businesses recognize the revolution about to occur and are taking far-reaching steps to take advantage of the unfolding policy and developments. A new day is about to break out for all the Nigerian people.
CHICAGO (AP) — In an unmistakable snub, President Barack Obama left Pakistan off a list of nations he thanked Monday for help getting war supplies into Afghanistan.
The omission speaks to the prolonged slump in U.S. relations with Pakistan that clouded a NATO summit where nations were eyeing the exits in Afghanistan.
Tensions that Obama readily acknowledged raise questions about whether Pakistan will help or hurt the goal of a stable Afghanistan. Continued mistrust between the United States and Pakistan also threaten cooperation to eliminate al-Qaida sanctuaries and could undermine U.S. confidence in the security of Pakistan’s growing nuclear arsenal.
“We need to work through some of the tensions that have inevitably arisen after 10 years of our military presence in that region,” Obama said later. “I don’t want to paper over real challenges there.”
Pakistan is not a NATO member but was invited to the summit Sunday and Monday because of its influence in next-door Afghanistan and its role until last year as the major supply route to landlocked NATO forces there. Pakistan closed those routes after a U.S. attack on the Pakistani side of the border killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.
The last-minute invitation from NATO to join the Chicago talks was a sign of hope that the rift had healed.
But it hasn’t. And Obama’s dealings with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari made that clear on Monday.
Zardari came to Obama’s home town expecting a separate meeting with the U.S. leader like the one accorded to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. But without a final deal to reopen the supply lines, no such meeting was to occur.
Obama, along with Karzai, did speak briefly with Zardari on the sidelines of a large group meeting Monday. Karzai dismissed the encounter in an interview with CNN as a “three-way photograph taking…just a photo opportunity.”
That was after Zardari had to sit by as Obama opened Monday’s session with public thanks only to the nations north of Afghanistan who allowed expanded supply shipments to transit their territory to compensate for the closed Pakistani border gates.
“I want to welcome the presence of President Karzai, as well as officials from central Asia and Russia — nations that have an important perspective and that continue to provide critical transit for ISAF supplies,” Obama said, referring to the International Security Assistance Force that is fighting the war.
Pakistani officials played down the snub.
“The supply route on Pakistan’s side has been suspended for the last six months,” Zardari’s spokesman Farhatullah Babar told reporters. “There was really no expectation from our side that the U.S. president would appreciate and admire the suspension of the NATO supply lines.”
The border crossing dispute is stuck over how much the U.S. will pay Pakistan to allow trucks to transit its territory. Before the airstrike, the U.S. paid about $250 per truck. Now, two U.S. officials said, Pakistan wants $5,000 a truck and an apology for the deaths in the airstrike. The Obama administration has said it was willing to pay as much as $500 per vehicle and has expressed condolences and regret, but no apology. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations were being conducted in private.
The prospects for reaching a deal were unclear, even as the stakes grow larger.
Babar said the government had asked negotiators to expedite an agreement, but that “no timeline can be given.”
Obama told reporters at the close of the summit that he knew beforehand that there would be no deal on the supply routes now.
“President Zardari shared with me his belief that these issues can get worked through,” Obama said. “We’re actually making diligent progress on it.”
Zardari also met with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday and made a beeline across a meeting hall to grasp her hand again on Monday morning. The State Department said Clinton and Zardari “discussed the importance of reopening the NATO supply lines,” and of cooperating to fight terrorist threats.
The U.S. and Pakistan have a history of troubled relations that started well before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The road has grown only rockier since then. Despite giving Pakistan billions of dollars in aid over the past decade, anti-Americanism is widespread in Pakistan. And after years of sometimes meaningful cooperation in hunting down al-Qaida figures, Pakistan is still seen by many U.S. officials as double-dealing and unreliable.
The transit route issue was a distraction and an embarrassment for the United States at the summit, and Obama’s cool arm’s length treatment of Zardari made it look even worse for the Pakistani president.
“Pakistan has to be part of the solution in Afghanistan, and it is in our national interests that to see a Pakistan that is democratic, that is prosperous and that is stable,” Obama said.
The quarrel over supply routes is intertwined with several other disputes, including Pakistan’s opposition to U.S. drone strikes against terrorist targets inside its borders.
In addition to closing the border crossings in response to the November attack, Pakistan ordered the U.S. to vacate Shamsi air base, which the U.S. was using to launch drone strikes at al-Qaida and Taliban militants.
The top allied commander in Afghanistan, Marine Gen. John Allen, has tried to cast the supply route problem in the best possible light, while acknowledging that he’d like to see the border crossings reopened as soon as possible. Allen said Sunday that by some measure, war stocks are higher now than when the crossings were closed.
That is thanks to an increased — and much more costly — use of alternative routes, including a network of northern routes that connect Baltic and Caspian Sea ports with Afghanistan through Russia and Central Asia and the Caucasus. And they combine sea, rail and truck transport and are more costly than crossing Pakistan by land.
U.S. officials have offered a range of estimates on how much the closing of the Pakistani land routes have added to the overall supply costs, but it apparently is at least two or three times more expensive to move supplies by air and via the northern route.
To underline the value of those alternative supply routes from the north, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta met Monday in Chicago with his counterparts from the central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. He expressed his “deep appreciation for their support” of the northern supply route, Pentagon press secretary George Little said.
At least as troublesome as being forced to use alternative supply routes into Afghanistan is the issue of how to get war materiel out of the country as Allen begins the withdrawal of thousands of U.S. troops this summer. That’s because the withdrawal includes shipment of vehicles and other equipment that would be costly and time consuming to remove by air.
The NATO alliance needs Pakistan’s cooperation to ensure Afghanistan’s long-term stability and security, NATO’s top officer told reporters. That was a mild way of saying that Pakistan can play the spoiler at will and holds cards the fighting force does not. Pakistan shares history, culture and language with Afghanistan’s restive southern swath, and maintains support for Taliban-led insurgents who cross the border to kill U.S. and NATO forces.
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Burns reported from Washington.
Associated Press writer Desmond Butler contributed to this report.
