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ECOWAS To Reinforce Electricity Market to Solve Energy Problem, Underdevelopment in West Africa

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ECOWAS To Reinforce Electricity Market to Solve Energy Problem, Underdevelopment in West Africa

By: Michael Mike

The Economic Communities Of West African States (ECOWAS) has said it is reinforcing the electricity market in West Africa to boost contractors ability to  buy power to improve energy generation and industrialization of the sub-region.

Speaking at the 7th Edition of the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF2022) in Abuja, ECOWAS President, Dr. Omar Touray, who was represented by ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitalisation, Sediko Douka,lamented that 50% of Africans have access to electricity, but less than 10% are accessible to those in the rural areas.

He said: “The ECOWAS Commission and its specialised energy Agencies are working tirelessly to address these challenges. Our strategic objective is to integrate the operation of the Community’s national power grids into a unified regional electricity market to ensure a stable, regular, and reliable supply of competitively priced electricity to the citizens of the ECOWAS member States in the medium term. We plan to achieve this objective by promoting and developing power generation and transmission facilities and equipment and coordinating electricity trade among the ECOWAS Member States.”

Touray added that: “It is the reason that we launched the regional electricity market since June 2018 and the ECOWAS Statutory Bodies adopted a Master Plan for the per development of regional power generation and transmission infrastructure 2019-2033 aiming to generate 16000 MW and construct 23000 km interconnection electric lines. It is a portfolio of 75 regional projects amounting 37 billion USD. The generation will promote the utilisation of renewable energy and natural gas, very abundant in our region. 

“The implementation of this Master Plan and the previous ones reaches a result where we have presently 13 countries interconnected; the remaining one country will be interconnected by the end of this year. Also, through the support of our traditional technical and financial partners, the WAPP Information and Coordination Centre (ICC) located in Cotonou, Benin will be operational by the end of this year and will serve as the regional electricity market operator, i.e. a place where stakeholders can sell  and buy electricity by next year the reason.”

He revealed that: “The ECOWAS Commission is also working on improving energy access for the ECOWAS rural population and actively promoting the deployment of off-grid energy solutions, such as clean energy mini-grids and stand-alone technologies.

“To this end, several regional projects are at the stage of implementation within the region. Our objective is to have an access consolidated rate of 70% by 2030.”

He said: “Following the adoption of the regional policies on renewable energy and energy efficiency by the Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government in July 2013, which tasked the Region to achieve ambitious targets by 2020 and 2030, this Forum rightly affords us a significant opportunity as a region and stakeholders to take stock of progress to-date. Indeed, 

Also Read: https://dailypost.ng/2022/10/29/frsc-hails-borno-gov-zulum-for-supporting-command/

“The ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy, aims to increase the share of renewable energy in the region’s overall electricity mix to 48% in 2030; and the ECOWAS Energy Efficiency Policy, aims to implement measures that free 2000 MW of power generation capacity and in the medium term, more than double the annual improvement in energy efficiency.”

He however lamented that: “To date, only half of the ECOWAS citizens have access to modern energy services; hence they are consistently deprived of the full benefits of electricity for socio-economic development, which, if not addressed, would hinder the Region from achieving its Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. 

He said: “That is why we launched the regional electricity market and will generate over 60,000 megawatts of electricity with over 23,000 distribution points. 

“By next year we will have electricity market where contractors can buy electricity.” He added that: “We are developing a new energy policy for the region that will be operational by June next year.”

The Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi  Osinbajo, in his opening remarks, explained that the Nigerian energy transition plan seeks to tackle the twin  renewable energy issues;  climate change and emissions.

Osinbajo, who was represented by Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu said: “Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan is a prime example of the needed evolution of policies to deliver both the growth in energy consumption necessary for development and the climate response required for the preservation of our planet. Our Energy Transition Plan seeks to tackle the dual crises of energy poverty and climate change, and deliver universal energy access (SDG7) by 2030 and net-zero by 2060. It is also a bolder articulation of our commitment to sustainability and renewables as earlier proposed in the Electricity Vision 30:30:30, which aims to provide 30GW of electricity by the year 2030 with renewable energy contributing at least 30% to the energy mix. While Nigeria led the charge in becoming the first African country to develop such a detailed Energy Transition Plan, we know the captured ambitions are not unique to us.”

The Nigeria’s VP while commending Regional sustainable energy policies like the ECOWAS Renewable Energy Policy (EREP) and the ECOWAS Energy Efficiency Policy (EEEP), said “recent global events reveal that we have another chance to determine the future of energy development and use within the West African Region, and I firmly believe this forum presents the opportunity to deepen our cooperation within the Region and Africa at large, to speak with one voice for our benefit at a time when energy issues are being renegotiated. As members of the West African community, we must understand our situations, properly identify our challenges, set our developmental goals, and determine the pathway for achieving them in a sustainable manner. This is a crucial time for us to collaborate as neighbours and work interdependently, leveraging on our cooperation and abundant energy resources to secure for ourselves and our children a sustainable energy market for socio-economic development of the Region. Africa must speak with one voice when it comes to energy and West Africa countries must see themselves as neighbours for economic and social and cultural development.”

Osinbajo, who thereafter officially declared open the event, said: “We must increase our investment in renewable energy.”

He noted that: “The importance of energy to human development cannot be over emphasised. Its relevance extends beyond socio-economic development to include security and sovereignty, foreign policy as well as international trade. The economic growth of nations is typically correlated with growth in energy consumption. It is clear that the survival of nations depends on the exploitation and utilisation of energy resources. 

“At the same time, energy in the way it has been historically produced and consumed is a key driver of ecological challenges with important implications for the survival of our planet.”

Osinbajo added that: “The development and use of energy is dynamic and energy policies are therefore continuously changing driven by affordability, efficiency of energy resources, energy security, international cooperation and trade and pressing realities like climate change. Globally, we are committed to limiting the warming of our dear planet by limiting CO2 emissions which largely come from energy consumption. However, this must be achieved alongside rapid development particularly for African nations.”

Also speaking, the Ambassador of Spain to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Juan Ignacio Sell, stated that: “This gathering affords member countries to share ideas and create awareness on our quest to achieve the SDGs in West Africa.”

He however lamented that: “We are failing short of the target we set for renewable and green energy,” insisting that: “Energy poverty and energy security needs to be addressed.”

He said the EU would assist the region in infrastructure and capacity building.

The 7th Edition of the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF2022) by the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Power Nigeria. ECREEE is a specialized agency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) with a public mandate to promote sustainable energy markets in the ECOWAS region. The priority activities of the Centre include sustainable policy development, capacity building, knowledge management, advocacy, and investment promotion. ECREEE instituted the ECOWAS Sustainable Energy Forum (ESEF) in 2017 to support the investment and policy initiatives of ECOWAS Member States in the regional sustainable energy sector. ESEF has since become the must-to-attend energy event in West Africa, providing a veritable platform for networking and forging effective partnerships that will accelerate the implementation of priority energy projects and ensure transformative progress towards attaining the ECOWAS region’s sustainable energy objectives.

ECOWAS To Reinforce Electricity Market to Solve Energy Problem, Underdevelopment in West Africa

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NDLEA, Education Ministry Agree on Drug Education in School Curriculum, Test for Varsity Students, Others

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NDLEA, Education Ministry Agree on Drug Education in School Curriculum, Test for Varsity Students, Others

By: Michael Mike

Compulsory drug integrity test for students of tertiary institutions and the review of current secondary school curriculum to include drug education are part of agreements reached between the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Federal Ministry of Education when the NDLEA Chairman/Chief Executive, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd) led a delegation of his management team to a meeting with the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa in Abuja on Wednesday.

Marwa had during the meeting commended the minister for his proactive approach to his job while highlighting the devastating effect of substance abuse on the country’s youthful population. He noted that the fight against illicit drugs is a fight for the souls of the Nigerian youth.

“The purpose of this visit is to seek collaboration with this esteemed ministry in our collective efforts towards drug control in Nigeria. Our focus basically will be on schools and educational institutions. There are millions of our children that are under the supervision of this ministry, and it’s very critical. The drug scourge, as we all know, is very high in Nigeria.

“So, we’re actually fighting for the souls of our children. Now, we also know that the drug use is exacerbating criminal activities. That is, the Boko Haram, the terrorism, banditry, and so on.

“We know that without drugs, they wouldn’t be able to do what they are doing, because they wouldn’t do all these criminal activities in their right senses. So, in our own way, we are contributing to the fight against insecurity in the country. Now, through law enforcement action, we have continued to deal mortal blows to the drug cartels. We know that through the seizures, arrests, convictions, and assets forfeiture, we’re doing our best.

“Supported by President Bola Tinubu, within the last two years, we have made arrest of 40,887 criminal elements, gotten 8,682 convicted and seized 5,507 metric tons of illicit drugs. In fact, from January last year to the present, opioids, that’s tramadol mostly, that we have seized, are in excess of one billion pills, which is worth more than N1 trillion.”

Marwa while stating that the President is also supporting the agency to build seven rehabilitation centres in addition to the existing 30 centres in NDLEA commands nationwide, noted that President Tinubu has also approved the construction of one model rehab centre in each of the geo-political zone in the country.

He listed three key areas he will want the Ministry and NDLEA to collaborate to effectively check the menace of substance abuse among Nigerian youths.

According to him, “the first suggestion we have is for a review of the drug education curriculum in secondary schools. Even though we’re told of the existence of this in the past but because of the complexity of drugs, the dynamism of it, and the new psychoactive substances that have come to play, we feel that it is time to consider a review of this drug education curriculum.

“Another area we were thinking of suggesting is to introduce stand-alone drug abuse prevention programmes in schools, secondary schools. Not the curriculum this time, but programmes that stand on their own, lectures, competitions, and involving the parents, and so on. And then the third area we were thinking is to adopt a drug testing policy in tertiary institutions, because we want a policy to keep our campuses clean. Several vice chancellors have come on their own to seek both our guidance and participation in conducting drug test for their students. So, what we are suggesting now is drug tests for new students, for students returning from vacations, and random tests. This will make the children to avoid taking drugs, knowing fully well that if they do and they are found out, there will be consequences. And the consequences do not necessarily mean rustication.”

In his response, the Minister commended Marwa for his steadfastness and commitment to the service of Nigeria.

He said: “Thank you for your service to Lagos. And beyond that, General Buba Marwa, has committed his life to serve this country. Since I know him 30 years ago, he’s still serving the country. And you could see the passion in the way that he laid out the problems in the country and what he wanted us to do. And as he was talking, I made note and it was as if I had seen his prepared comments. Thank you so much for making this visit.”

He noted that the drug scourge is a huge problem that must be tackled headlong.
“When the youths get into drugs, they won’t go to school and even when they go to school, they are not getting functional education. And at the end of the day, what happens? Their level of critical thinking is lower. Their ability to make informed decisions in the later part of their life becomes significantly reduced. So, they become unemployable. And what happens?

“You now have that vicious cycle. They’re not functional. They’re not useful to themselves. All they do is resort to criminality. Once you use drugs, you’re likely to have a dysfunctional family. So, it’s a huge menace that we need to tackle, and tackle very quickly.”

On the areas of collaboration, the Minister said: “I would suggest we form a technical working group, inter-ministerial working group between our ministry and NDLEA.
As a result, I will also like to create a Substance Use Prevention Unit in the ministry.

“We’re reviewing the curriculum now for secondary school. And that’s why I’ve asked the director of Senior Secondary School to come, to be here and then we find a way to cascade it down to primary school. But we need to get both primary school and secondary school and add this to their curriculum. But the one for secondary school, we can definitely do that now. We’re just developing their new curriculum now.

“Also, on the stand-alone school programmes, I agree with you fully. We should also design ongoing programmes in our schools. That we can roll out, and cascade down. You also said something very important about the drug test policy in tertiary institutions. We will do it.
We have to do it. We do not have a choice. At least, we’ll start with tertiary institutions, for their fresh and returning students as well as random testing.”

The Minister also assured on getting two agencies under the Ministry, UBEC and TETFUND to partner with the NDLEA Academy in Jos as part of efforts to deepen drug education in basic, secondary and tertiary institutions across the country.

NDLEA, Education Ministry Agree on Drug Education in School Curriculum, Test for Varsity Students, Others

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At UN Food Summit, Nigeria Maps 10-year Youth-led Agricultural Renewal Plan

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At UN Food Summit, Nigeria Maps 10-year Youth-led Agricultural Renewal Plan

** We’ve doled out $538m for SAPZs, created 785,000 jobs, says VP Shettima

By: Michael Mike

The Nigerian government has unveiled a 10-year Strategic Action Plan (2026–2035) to transform its agricultural sector, with Vice President Kashim Shettima declaring that the youth-led innovation will be central to the country’s food systems transition.

The plan is part of Nigeria’s national strategy to implement the Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) Kampala Declaration (2026–2036), adopted by African Heads of State to strengthen food and nutrition security across the continent.

Speaking on Tuesday at a high-level dialogue between African youth agri-food entrepreneurs and African leaders during the United Nations Food Systems Summit Stocktake (UNFSS+4) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Vice President Shettima emphasised the importance of investing in young people to drive innovation and resilience across food systems.

“A nation that is prepared for the future is not known by the promises it makes but by the place it gives to its youth in shaping those promises. To see African youths leading the charge in this essential sector speaks more eloquently than any speech,” VP Shettima stated.

He explained that Nigeria has already inaugurated an Agricultural Sector Working Group and a Technical Committee to coordinate national implementation of the Kampala Declaration and develop the 10-Year Strategic Action Plan.

According to him, the plan will align national and subnational priorities, promote public-private partnerships, and embed strong youth engagement at every level.

The Vice President also noted that the Federal Government has recapitalised the Bank of Agriculture with ₦1.5 trillion ($1 billion) to support the Youth Agricultural Revolution in Nigeria, providing loans of up to ₦1 million to young farmers and agri-groups across the country.

“This is not charity. It is strategic inclusion. It is resilience engineered into policy,” VP Shettima said.

The Vice President listed several ongoing initiatives, including Nigeria’s collaboration with the Netherlands, CGIAR, and IITA under the Youth in Agribusiness Initiative, which is targeting 10,000 youth, with 40–50% of them women, across innovative hubs in horticulture, poultry, aquaculture, and cassava processing.

He also cited investments in mechanisation, greenhouse expansion, and irrigation systems, along with the $1.1 billion Green Imperative Project with Brazil, which is enhancing year-round agricultural productivity and value chain efficiency.

“We launched the first 2,000 tractors in a 70-million-dollar investment, targeting over 550,000 hectares of land and reaching more than 550,000 farming households. In partnership with John Deere, we are deploying 10,000 tractors over five years,” he said.

Shettima reaffirmed Nigeria’s call for increased investment in value addition and agro-processing to end the export of raw commodities and build more resilient local economies.

The forthcoming 10-Year Action Plan, he added, will prioritise training and mentorship in agro-technology and agribusiness, with a strong monitoring and evaluation framework.

“This is not a sprint. It is a generational relay that requires collective action, strategic partnerships, and an unwavering commitment to shared responsibility,” he said.

Meanwhile, Vice President Shettima also addressed the Plenary Session on Transforming Food Systems in Complex Settings, where he disclosed that Nigeria has already committed $538.05 million to the first phase of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme, a flagship initiative aimed at boosting agricultural productivity, improving rural livelihoods, and accelerating agro-industrialisation.

“The SAPZ programme in Nigeria is being implemented in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and other key development partners. The initiative is projected to attract $1 billion in total investments by 2027, reduce post-harvest losses by 80%, and has already generated over 785,000 jobs across targeted regions,” he noted.

VP Shettima added that African youths hold the key to the continent’s agri-food future and thus, no stone should be left unturned in mobilising this greatest asset.

He reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to tackling food insecurity, noting that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared a State of Emergency on Food Security, reactivated over 500,000 hectares of arable land, deployed strategic food reserves, and expanded access to seeds and extension services.

VP Shettima also emphasised the importance of security sector reforms to ensure farmers can access their lands safely and continue food production in rural communities.

In addition, he called for international collaboration to recharge the Lake Chad Basin, expand sustainable irrigation systems, and establish a national farm database.

He also advocated for anticipatory action to climate shocks, emergency school feeding programmes in conflict-affected areas, and resilience-building initiatives to secure long-term stability.

“Food security is the trust anchor of peace,” the Vice President stated.

Also speaking, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, decried worsening global food insecurity, noting that “over 37 million children under five who faced acute malnutrition this year are almost the entire population of Canada.”

“Short-term interventions disconnected from long-term development planning are not the solutions we are seeking. We must choose transformation over dependency,” she said.

She commended leaders, including President Tinubu, who are embedding resilience in national strategies, combining global, digital and traditional knowledge to create inclusive and sustainable food systems.

“We need coordination as a people and not just bureaucracies. Bureaucracies are important; we need strong public institutions, but our efforts must translate into impact in people’s lives,” Mohammed added.

Other speakers at the summit included World Food Programme Executive Director, Cindy McCain; Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia, Salah Jama, and Moubarack Roubo from the Ministry of Agricultural Production and Industrialisation, Chad, among others.

At UN Food Summit, Nigeria Maps 10-year Youth-led Agricultural Renewal Plan

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One killed, another injured as gunmen invade Gari Village in Niger State

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One killed, another injured as gunmen invade Gari Village in Niger State

By: Zagazola Makama

Armed men have attacked Gari Village in Masamagu area of Niger State, killing one person and abducting another in a violent incident that occurred on Wednesday night.

Zagazola Makama gathered that the attack happened at about 9:30 p.m. on July 24, when six unidentified gunmen stormed the community and macheted a 55-year-old man, Umaru Zakiru, to death.

They also abducted one Hussaini Muhammed to an unknown destination, but the victim later escaped from captivity with a gunshot wound.

A tram of security forces responded promptly and evacuated both the deceased and the injured to the General Hospital in Kontagora for autopsy and medical treatment.

A manhunt has been launched to track down the assailants and bring them to justice.

One killed, another injured as gunmen invade Gari Village in Niger State

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