Off-Grid Power: Efficient Public Service Delivery Will Improve Ease Of Doing Business - Buhari ·      As President commissions 1.52 MWp/2.28 MWh Solar Micro-grid System and Energy retrofitting in FMW&H ·      “This project enables Nigeria fulfill commitments made with other leading countries of the world”, he says ·      Investment is in consonance with the Buhari Administration’s policy to promote off grid option-Fashola ·      UN Deputy Secretary, Ministers hail FMW&H for leading the way on Off-Grid President Muhammadu Buhari, Tuesday commissioned a 1.52 Megawatts Solar Mini-grid System and Energy retrofitting of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing Headquarters in Mabushi, Abuja saying the project was in line with his administration’s pursuit of off-grid as its focal policy. President Buhari, who was represented at the occasion by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, said in addition to policy implementation, the project also enables Nigeria fulfill commitments made with other countries of the world under the Paris Climate Change Agreement which he signed on behalf of Nigeria. Recalling that a global resolve to reduce carbon emissions by committing to the use of renewable sources of energy was at the heart of the Paris Agreement, the President declared, “This 1.52 megawatts solar farm which, I am told, is the largest solar project for any public building in Africa, will enable us reduce carbon emission, and it is something to be proud of that we are contributing to saving this planet for future generation”. “Another reason why I am pleased about this project is the impact of reliable energy on the ability of our public servants housed in these buildings to efficiently discharge their responsibilities to members of the public”, he said adding that as critical enabler of the Private Sector, the improved efficiency in public service delivery should translate to an improvement in the ease of doing business. The President, who pointed out that ease of doing business “is a major objective of our economic plans to grow the Nigerian economy and create jobs”, further assured Nigerians of his administration’s commitment towards promoting energy efficiency and ensuring energy security to all Nigerians. He disclosed that the Government has just embarked on the competitive procurement of up to 150 Mega Watts of solar power along the Maiduguri axis to help address the issue of electricity supply while enhancing grid stability through the provision of clean renewable energy. The President commended the Ministers and staff of the Ministry of Works and Housing and the Contractor for the successful delivery of the project which, according to him, “hopefully is jus t the first of many more to be delivered across Nigeria in the public and private sectors”. In his keynote address, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, said the investment in Mini-Grid by the Ministry was in consonance with the Buhari Administration’s policy to promote off grid option as a way of making more of the on-grid power available to ordinary Nigerians who cannot afford the cost of investing in off-grid power. Fashola said, based on the mandate of the Federal Executive Council, which, according to him, gave approval for the project on March 20, 2019, a 1.52 Mega-Watts Solar System has been delivered that would provide uninterrupted power supply to five blocks housing the Ministry of Works and Housing and Ministry of Environment and Lands. The Minister said in fulfillment of the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of creating jobs, the project also employed 382 artisans and 176 skilled workers throughout its duration adding that the project would see to the reduction of average diesel consumption from 764,248 litres per annum to 166,825 litres per annum. According to him, such huge reduction in diesel consumption would translate to cost saving of N270,945,000 over 20 years of the life of the system while also contributing towards the reduction of government operational expenses and reduction of recurrent expenditure. Other deliverables from the project, he said, include the upgrade and retrofitting of the Ministry’s electrical appliances by replacing 400 old Air-conditioning units with 400 new inverter-based energy efficient Air-conditioning units and replacing 2,600 old light fittings with energy efficient LED ones, which according to him “are energy saving because they consume 40 percent less energy.” In terms of local content, Fashola said the contract has engaged five STEM candidates to work throughout the solar PV lifecycle of the project with two candidates trained in engineering design and another two in project construction while one candidate got trained in engineering project management. Urging other government agencies to follow the same path, the Minister declared, “With this investment we have built our own Mini-Grid, in consonance with our Administration’s policy to promote off grid option, thereby making more of the on-grid power available to ordinary Nigerians who cannot afford the cost of investing in off-grid power. “All I need now say is that other government buildings can follow this path and our team will be most enthusiastic to provide the support, and share our experiences and lessons learned, working with the Ministry of Power”, he said adding that the Ministry of Finance has already indicated interest and the team has begun the energy audit of the Ministry. He expressed deep appreciation to the contractor, Messrs. EM-ONE Energy Solutions, “for the efficient execution and more importantly for the sacrifice to complete this project in spite of the wide disparity between the foreign exchange rates in 2019 when the project was awarded and now, notwithstanding high importation costs of the parts”. Fashola also acknowledged the contributions of Mrs. Damilola Ogunbiyi and Engr. Femi Akinyelure, two young people whom the President appointed to the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and who were part of the project at different stages from inception to completion recalling that the two, along with their colleagues, were involved in the energy audit and design of the project. “They represent the positive impact of youth involvement in public service”, the Minister said as he also commended Engr. Julius Olurinola, the Director of Engineering Services, “whose role I liken to that of a midwife, supervising, monitoring and reporting the progress of this project from incubation to delivery”. Inviting the President to commission the project, Fashola declared, “I have the pleasure to now invite you Sir, to perform the official commissioning of the 1.52 Mega-Watts Solar Power project to provide uninterrupted power to your staff in the Ministry of Works and Housing and Environment to improve their working conditions”. In his goodwill message, the Minister of Environment, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, commended the Minister and the Management of the Ministry of Works and Housing for the successful completion of the project noting that it would enable the user Ministries to improve in productivity. Describing the project as a wonderful achievement, the Minister commended the resilience and diligence of the Ministerial Team led by the Minister in completing the project and urged other Ministries and government agencies to follow suit “in line with Climate Change”. Also in her goodwill message, the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations and former Minister of Environment, Mrs. Amina Mohammed, commended the Minister of Works and Housing for the successful completion of the project pointing out that it is a demonstration of Nigeria’s adherence to the global efforts towards zero emission. Noting that the installation of Solar energy across the world was creating three times more jobs than the use of fossil fuel, the former Environment Minister added that more countries needed to embrace solar, especially in Africa. She said the successful completion of the project, aside improving productivity, highlights Nigeria’s development and leadership in the area of renewable energy in the African Continent. Earlier, in his Welcome address, the Minister of State for Works and Housing, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu, said the successful completion of the project has brought solution to the Ministry’s challenges brought about by the use of fossil fuel.   ...

FG Restate Commitment To Promote Energy Efficiency And Security For All President Muhammadu Buhari has restated the commitment of his administration towards promoting energy efficiency and ensuring energy security to all Nigerians. The President stated this at the official commissioning of the 1.52 MWp/2.28 MWh Solar Microgrid System built by the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing. Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said that the 1.52 MegaWatts Solar System is a project that delivers on so many of the Federal Government’s commitments at the Local and International levels. The President explained that the Solar Microgrid System is part of Nigeria’s commitment to the Paris Climate Change Agreement which he signed on behalf of the country to reduce carbon emission globally. He commended the Ministry of Works and Housing, saying that the project has placed the Federal Government as a champion on the use of renewable energy, not just off-grid and for the last-mile, but also within urban contexts for commercial users. Similarly, the President noted that the project has added to government objective of economy Plan of Ease of doing Business which is a major objective of the Federal Government economic plan to grow the economy and create jobs.. He urged other MDAs to key into the initiative. In his keynote address, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola,SAN said that the project was approved by the Federal Executive Council on the 20th March 2019 at the time the Ministry of Power was part of Works and Housing. “I express our appreciation to members of the Federal Executive Council who voted to entrust our Ministry with this project,” he said. Explaining the scope of the project, Fashola said the Ministry has delivered a 1.52 MegaWatts Solar System based on the mandate of the Federal Executive Council, and it would provide uninterrupted power supply to 5 blocks housing the Ministry of Works and Housing and Ministry of Environment and Lands. In fulfillment of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of creating jobs, the Minister said that the project employed 382 artisans and 176 skilled workers throughout its duration. Continuing, he said that the project would see to the reduction of average diesel consumption from 764,248 litres per annum to 166,825 litres per annum and cost saving of NGN270,945,000 over 20 years and contribute towards the reduction of government operational expenses and reduction of recurrent expenditure. “With this investment we have built our own Mini-Grid, in consonance with our Administration’s policy to promote off grid option, thereby making more of the on-grid power available to ordinary Nigerians who cannot afford the cost of investing in off-grid power,” he said. The impressive event also received goodwill messages from the Honourable Minister of Environment, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar and the Deputy Secretary General of United Nations, Hajiya Amina Mohammed. ...

BRF At 58 : A Return To The Mind’s Infrastructure By Hakeem Bello Twelve years ago, in his Year 2010 budget presentation to the Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday, 3 November 2009, as Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, had said, in part, “…while a lot of work has been done in our attempt to bridge the infrastructure gap and a lot of projects, too numerous to mention will be completed before the end of this year and in the first and subsequent quarters of next year such as schools, health facilities, roads, water supply facilities and so much more. We believe that we are now at the most challenging phase of our journey to a bright and rewarding future. “For too long, we seem to have evolved survival strategies for dealing with chaotic and unplanned living that we now seem afraid to approach orderly living predicated on law and order. We are at the point where we must build the most enduring infrastructure. This is the infrastructure of the mind. This is the infrastructure that empowers people to seek new levels of excellence that demands new attitudes that commits to greater ideals. We recognise that while the buildings, schools and roads can be easily pulled down and rebuilt, the human mind is the most difficult to rebuild, although it is the most enduring.” A rigorous enforcement of the law and multi-dimensional public awareness campaigns followed that declaration and characterised the rest of the administration. Six years into his assignment as a minister responsible for the renewal and expansion of our country’s infrastructure, he had repeatedly stated a fact: there is no state in the country where the Federal Government is not building or rehabilitating a road or bridge or house, or to use a phrase he had used while governing Lagos State, doing “infrastructure catch-up” with population growth. Progress has certainly been made. By 21 June 2021, when he made a presentation titled, “The Politics of Economy and the Economy of Politics: Infrastructure Development; the Progressive Way" at the first APC Youth Conference in Abuja, infrastructure deliverables had shot to 895 ongoing Highway and Bridge projects, internal road rehabilitation in 43 federal tertiary institutions, construction of new Federal Secretariats in six states and rehabilitation/maintenance of 24 Federal Secretariats across the country, construction of housing estates under the National Housing Programme in 34 states, rehabilitation of 41 bridges, scheduled maintenance of 5,461.88Km of roads and 8,000KM of Highway maintenance by FERMA, all across the nation while Government established the first ever National Building Maintenance Policy for the country, leading to the creation of the Department of Federal Public Asset Maintenance (FPAM) with the Ministry. Earlier in an interview published in African Business of 6 April 2021, Fashola told the magazine’s Publisher Omar Ben Yedder: “The point to make here is that the outline of the infrastructure commitments of this government are very clear now. The wheels are also turning and what people should expect to see is more developments on the ease of doing business. Infrastructure is very important too for enabling and achieving that.  We’re refurbishing public infrastructure highways, and we are beginning to build our maintenance economy because it is a very important economy that really has not taken off. This is where we will be, this will be a decade of infrastructure renewal and expansion. It will be an exciting space to play.” Fashola turns 58 today, and the theme of the Babatunde Raji Fashola (BRF) Gabfest (held yearly in the last five years to commemorate his birthday by discussing the role of the youth in Nigeria’s future) is “Arrive Alive: Building a road towards better driving culture.” From verifiable data by traffic management authorities, it is becoming clear that with better road infrastructure, motorists now overspeed and are becoming generally less compliant with road safety rules and regulations. In a recent submission to the Federal Executive Council, Fashola had noted: “Consistently over the years and this data is available, the impact of bad roads and accidents was less than 2%. As big as that may be, it is less than 2%. (Whereas) overspeeding, loss of control, wrongful overtaking cumulate to over 70%.” This is huge. For Fashola, this cannot be overlooked; the numbers must be drastically brought down. For him, it is time again to focus on building the infrastructure of our minds. As he puts it further in that submission “our focus as a government is that we've agreed that the driver has a role to play, starting from education and certification….” Thankfully, the Federal Government has recently inaugurated the National Road Safety Advisory Council with Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, as chair, to “ensure the effective implementation of the Nigerian Road Safety Strategy Version 2, 2021-2030, which centres on a safe system approach to road safety based on global standards,” to quote the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Dr Boboye Oyeyemi. Besides education and certification, which will be executed by the Ministries of Education and Information, FRSC, state and local governments, Fashola has noted that installation of road traffic signs and patrol of the highways will be intensified. So also, it is a good development that one of the key elements of the recently signed National Health Act is the development of emergency life support system. As Fashola noted: “Road traffic crashes happen everywhere in the world. The problem is: can you bring it down?  and should a road traffic crash lead to death? So, emergency life support is critical.” Fashola has, over the years, demonstrated that law and order have a human face and could be imbibed as societal norm through the cross-pollination of education and enlightenment, in addition to effective law enforcement and a transparent justice system.  This means that both those who enforce law and order and the populace among whom they are enforced must come to a clear understanding and agreement as to their necessity in the growth and development of the society. In 2017, Fashola told the executives of The Guardian Newspapers in an interview. “When failures happen in developed societies, they call them scandals. When the parliamentarians in the United Kingdom were found stealing funds and all that, they called it ‘Political Expenses Scandal’. When Lionel Messi was involved in tax evasion, they called it Tax Evasion Scandal. The reason is that they have focused so much on law and order that non-compliance is the exception. Society is (definitely) scandalized by non-compliance.” With hope, this 5th edition of BRF Gabfest will come up with ideas and workable solutions on how to build the infrastructure of the minds of motorists and other road users. Fatalities on our Roads have to be an exception not the Rule. It is obvious that BRF is scandalized by every single life that is lost to road crashes. GABFEST 5 is a call for action to end it. Somehow, BRF himself may have thrown up one consideration for the Gabfest participants because just last week while hosting a delegation of the FCT Council of the Scout Association of Nigeria in his office, he spoke very strongly about the urgent need to resuscitate the various youth clubs and associations which formed the building blocks of societal values and ideals in the past such as the Boys Scout Movement, the Girl Guides and the Boys' Brigade. He told the delegation: “I am particularly enthused to have you here today because you represent a critical building block of society, a block that builds values and morality for young men and women that society seems to have left behind. The block has to be repositioned very urgently as a cornerstone of rebuilding of our nation, as a nation, not only of a high human resource capacity but of a human resource that has the highest value and morality. Urging the association to work with other affiliates like the Girl Guides and the Boys Brigade, among others, Fashola said that such collaboration was necessary in order to give young people the choice to join noble, moral clubs to expend their energy, to build their optimism and dream great dreams, adding that if those clubs were not available, they would be recruited by other clubs with less noble intentions. For Fashola, finding practical ways to restore positive values among Nigerians would be the best 58th birthday gift. ●    Mr Hakeem Bello, FNGE, is Special Adviser, Communications to the Hon. Minister ...