By Sharon Emi
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and its joint partners at the weekend signed a gas supply and aggregation agreement that will support the 140 Megawatts Aba Integrated Power Project in Abia State.
The agreement, signe in Abuja, was between SPDC, Geometric Power Aba Limited (GPAL); and Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN).
By the agreement, SPDC will supply gas from the SPDC joint venture gas plant in Imo River traversing Abia and Rivers States to the power producer, Geometric Power Aba Limited (GPAL) via a gas pipeline network which is already installed.
“This is a further demonstration of our commitment to supporting Nigeria’s industrialisation through gas,” said the Managing Director of SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor.
Okunbor, who was represented by SPDC’s General Manager, Business and Government Relations, Bashir Bello, noted: “For more than 50 years, Shell has been in the forefront of the campaign to develop and monetise Nigeria’s huge gas resources and it is good to see more players joining the fray to grow the gas market and help improve lives and the earnings in Nigeria.”
Speaking at the agreement-signing ceremony, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, described the Aba Independent Power Project as a potential catalyst for opening up the Aba market for economic growth.
Represented by his Special Adviser on Fiscal Strategy, Dr. Tim Okon, the minister said the government was determined to ensure commercial sustainability of any such project with the potential to grow the gas market.
Chief Executive Officer of GAPL, Prof. Bath Nnaji, said the project was structured to incentivise gas suppliers to invest in gas production for the domestic market, adding that: “We are confident that the structure will serve as a model for other gas-to-power-projects in Nigeria.”
The Managing Director of GACN, Morgan Okwoche, who signed on behalf of the company, described the project as the foremost private off-grid gas supply and aggregation agreement that would enhance industrial growth and economic development.
The SPDC JV owns the 650MW Afam VI power plant in Afam, River State which in 2017 supplied 15 per cent of Nigeria’s grid-connected electricity.
PDP Condemns Presidency’s Fixation on Atiku
Presidential candidate appoints four aides
Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The Presidential Campaign Council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the fixation, and lies spinning of the presidency on its presidential candidate, AlhajibAtiku Abubakar, but insisted that it would not lose focus.
This is coming as the presidential candidate of PDP, Atiku Abubakar has appointed, three youths and a woman as aides.
The Director of Media and Publicity of the campaign, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement yesterday, said that it is ludicrous that the presidency has abandoned its statutory duties and turned itself into a lying, “monitoring spirit” on Atiku and his movements, without producing any documentary evidence to substantiate its claims.
He said Atiku is a global figure and is not inhibited, in any way whatsoever, from traveling to any part of the world.
Ologbondiyan added, “The attention of the PDP Presidential Campaign has been drawn to fresh fabrications allegedly being sponsored by the Muhammadu Buhari Presidency, in its unrelenting bid to tarnish the image of our presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.”
“It is indeed despicable that President Buhari will continue to endorse the spinning of lies by his handlers against another presidential candidate, including its false claims that Atiku Abubakar cannot travel to the United States, which Nigerians have since seen to be mere fabrications.
“President Buhari’s fixation on Atiku Abubakar, to the extent of sponsoring fabrications in a section of the media, only goes to show that he is intimidated by our candidate’s resume, his overwhelming popularity and policy direction, which have since amplified his (President Buhari’s) incompetence and lack of direction, as a result of which he is being rejected by the majority of Nigerians.”
“However, he is not prepared to make the sky his office, unlike President Buhari, who unleashed a widely condemned taste for very expensive and wasteful gallivanting with our national fleet, while Nigerians wallow in abject poverty for neglect and abuse of resources.”
Meanwhile, Atiku has appointed three youths and a woman as aides.
The new appointments are contained a press statement issued yesterday by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, in Abuja.
The new appointees include Dr. Ahmed Adamu, Special Assistant (Youth and Strategy); Aliyu Bin Abbas; Special Assistant (Youth Support Groups); Phrank Shuaibu, Special Assistant (Public Communications) and Mrs Funmi Lamuye, Special Assistant (South-West).
Abbas, 34, an indigene of Borno State, is Director General of the Atiku Cares Foundation. (ACF), a philanthropic platform of the former Vice President for humanitarian interventions to vulnerable persons and communities has under the leadership of Abbas, made great impact in bringing succor to the most vulnerable around the country especially in the Northeast zone.
Shuaibu, 43, a publicist and public communications consultant hails from Kogi State.
Lamuye, a lawyer and philanthropist is the founder of Prince Alade Lamuye Foundation (PALF), a vehicle she has used to impact on the lives of the widows in her state of Osun. She was until recently a member of the National Assembly Service Commission.
Adamu, 33, academician, petroleum economist and leadership and development expert, who hails from Katsina State is the pioneer Global President of Commonwealth Youth Council.
He was an international expert at the United Nation’s Global Forum on Youth. He was also ranked among the top 100 most influential young Nigerians by Advance Media Africa.
