By Temitope Ajayi

Angered by the appalling situation of Nigeria’s electricity supply sector over several decades of doing the wrong things by successive governments with no remedy in sight, even after hundreds of billions of public funds had been expended, President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018 chose a different path that had worked in other jurisdictions.

He reached out to the then German Chancellor Angela Merkel to help solve the protracted power gridlock in Nigeria. The discussion between the two leaders gave birth to the FG-Siemens Energy AG Presidential Power Initiative in 2019. Under the terms of the agreement of the Nigerian Electrification Roadmap, Siemens Energy would ramp up electricity generation in Nigeria to 25,000 megawatt in six years, in three phases, from an average of 4000 megawatts the country had been stuck with for decades.

President Buhari was quite bullish about the project such that he put it under the direct supervision of his office with his Chief of Staff, late Abba Kyari, as the directing officer. The former president who didn’t want the project to be derailed by bureaucratic bottlenecks and red-tape made sure all man-made obstacles and deliberate obstructions were bulldozed with Abba Kyari in charge.

The unfortunate demise of Kyari in 2020 arising from Covid-19 while in Germany to get the power project underway rolled back the speedy implementation of what would have been a game-changer in Nigeria’s elusive quest for a stable and reliable power supply. Nigeria’s economy had been blighted by years of poor electricity supply. From available records, Federal Government has spent over $30 billion dollars to revamp the sector in the last three decades without any substantial progress. The economy is run on generators with Nigerians spending a staggering $10billion dollars (N7.6 trillion) annually on petrol and diesel to run their generators including the cost of maintenance, according to a 2024 report, “Beyond Gensets: Advancing the energy transition in Lagos State” published by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).

True to his campaign promise to build on the achievements of his predecessor across all sectors and improve on governance performance in areas where it is required, President Tinubu, in demonstration of his unshaken believe in continuity of governance, took on the FG-Siemens Power Project as part of his priority projects in the energy sector.

It is necessary to state that this all-important power project had suffered undue delays since July, 29, 2020 when the Federal Executive Council approved the payment of €15.21m and N1.708bn as part of Nigeria’s counterpart funding for the offshore and onshore components of the project.

Managing Director, Siemens Energy Nigeria, Seun Suleiman, was quoted as saying then that, “Siemens Energy is committed to working with the Federal Government of Nigeria through the FGNPowerCo to see a successful implementation of the presidential power initiative. We have successfully carried out a similar project in Egypt.

“This project will transform the energy landscape of the country, and we are grateful the government has entrusted us with this notable initiative. We are capable, and we will deliver excellent results.”

In 2021, FGN Power Company, the Special Purpose Vehicle established by the Federal Government of Nigeria for the implementation of the PPI, announced the commencement of the grid network studies and power simulation training for technical experts in the Discos, TCN, NAPTIN and NERC, including provision of specialized power simulation softwares for TCN, NERC and all Discos. By December 2024, more than 100 experts across the sector have been trained on power systems simulation and network planning with skills to better manage the grid operations at various levels.
In the same year 2021, the Federal Executive Council approved the contract for the supply of 10 mobile substations and 10 power transformers by Siemens Energy for quick reinforcement of the grid as part of the pilot Phase of the project. Reports by FGN Power Company indicate that all the equipment have since been supplied and installed across the country.

However, the overall pace of the project delivery in terms of meeting timelines has not been impressive.

On assumption of office, President Tinubu saw the need to continue with the project and how timely delivery can transform the power sector for a country that desperately needs a reliable power supply for industrialisation and grow its economy. The status of the project came up at a bilateral meeting between President Tinubu and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during the latter’s working visit to Nigeria in August 2024 in Abuja. At a follow-up engagement in Dubai in December 2024 during COP28, the Nigerian Government and Siemens Energy AG signed an accelerated performance agreement aimed at expediting the implementation of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) to improve electricity supply in Nigeria. The agreement that was signed by Kenny Anuwe, Managing Director/CEO of FGN Power Company and Ms. Nadja Haakansson, Siemens Energy’s Senior Vice President and Managing Director for Africa, was witnessed by President Tinubu and Chancellor Scholz.

Under the accelerated performance agreement, Siemens Energy will see to the end-to-end modernization and expansion of Nigeria’s electric power transmission grid with the full supply, delivery, and installation of Siemens-manufactured equipment.

Furthermore, the agreement will ensure project sustainability and maintenance with full technology transfer and training for Nigerian engineers at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

In a major demonstration of President Tinubu’s commitment to the power project and a positive shift towards execution, the President led the Federal Executive Council on December 16, 2024 to approve €161.3 million Euros for the execution of the contracts in the first batch of the Phase one of the projects across the country following earlier approval of the transaction by the Bureau of Public Procurement.

Addressing journalists after the FEC approval, an enthusiastic Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, with the renewed vigour to deliver on the project said, “at the Federal Executive Council meeting, there were basically two approvals for the Federal Ministry of Power, as I presented. The first was actually an approval for the award of contract for engineering, procurement, construction and financing for the implementation of the 331 32 KV And 132 33 KV substations upgrade under Phase One of the Presidential Initiative, popularly known as the Siemens project consequent upon completion of the pilot phase of this project.

“So, the Federal Executive Council considered it necessary for us to move forward as promised by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at a meeting he held with the President of the Republic of Germany.”

The latest FEC approved scope of work includes upgrade of TCN substations in five locations of Abeokuta (330/132/33kV), Ayede (330/132/33kV), Offa (132/33kV), Onitsha (330/132/33kV) and Sokoto (132/33kV). These substations were carefully selected as Batch 1 of the brownfield scope of the Phase 1 projects to increase the wheeling capacity of the transmission network grid.

In the same vein, FGN Power Company will implement assets upgrade and enhancement in the distribution networks, in collaboration with the Distribution Companies (Discos) to ensure last-mile delivery of the evacuated power to industrial customers and residential consumers. These locations are load centres that are currently underserved and require swift enhancements. The execution of the project will be fast tracked and completed under the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.

It’s important to state that the FGN Power Company has started working on other priority brownfield and Greenfield projects in target load centres across the country. Special attention is also being paid to the execution of systems and products to enhance grid resilience and stability to reduce the frequent occurrences of grid disturbances.

In December 2024, Minister of Power Adelabu commissioned the mobile substation in Saapade, a suburb of Shagamu in Ogun State. This has enhanced power evacuation and delivery to industrial customers within the Shagamu hub. Similarly, another mobile substation was commissioned at the Ajibode area of the University of Ibadan to enhance power delivery to the university community and adjoining areas. Before then, mobile substations and power transformers have been commissioned and energized in Ajah Lagos, Mando Kano, Jebba Kwara State, Okene Kogi, Amukpe Delta, Potiskum Yobe, Apo Abuja and Ihovbor Edo.

While the implementation of the Presidential Power Initiative is going on, President Tinubu has equally inaugurated the Presidential Metering Initiative, which aims to increase the rate of smart metering of all customers in a commercially sustainable manner. The roll out of the metering solutions has started. It is expected that the combined impact of assets upgrade through Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) and metering through the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI), coupled with efforts of subnational electricity markets will bring lasting solutions to the challenges of electricity supply in Nigeria.

With President Tinubu’s committed leadership, the parlous state of the power sector will be reversed, and Nigerians and the economy will experience a new lease of life with reliable electricity supply that will geometrically increase productive activities. Indeed, the president’s strategic approach to resolving the multifaceted challenges in the power sector is yielding visible results. The restructuring of the tariff regime, intervention in the commercial imbroglio on gas supply, additional investments in infrastructure through PPI, enactment of the new Electricity Act which provides legal framework for further decentralisation of the sector and devolution of more responsibilities to the subnational governments, are all part of the renewed hope agenda for the power sector to bring sustainable solutions.

-Ajayi is Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu on Media and Publicity

By Tunde Rahman

Kemi Badenoch’s ill-advised denigration of Nigeria has refused to go away. Her belittlement of the country of her ancestry is still generating passionate public discourse within and outside the media space, and it appears the matter will not go away anytime soon.

Exasperated by Kemi Badenoch’s misguided attacks on Nigeria, Vice President Kashim Shettima recently counseled her to drop the Kemi in her name and bleach her ebony skin to white to further appease her Tory party and British establishment. And perturbed and seemingly lost by all that, my daughter, Kemi Mushinat, who recently graduated in Communication Studies, asked what was wrong with the name Kemi. There is nothing wrong with the name, I explained. But a lot is wrong with Kemi Badenoch (Nee Adegoke), the Leader of the British opposition Conservative Party, who opted to behave, as the Yoruba would describe it, “bi omo ale to fi owo osi ju we ile baba e”, meaning like a bastard who would go out to denigrate her ancestry by pointing the offensive finger at her roots.

Honour and dignity are inherent in the name Oluwakemi, indeed in any name. But what confers dignity, what glorifies a name, is the character the bearer brings into it. Kemi Badenoch left much to be desired, disparaging Nigeria, our motherland. She painted a gory picture of her growing up years in Nigeria from the middle of the 80s to around 1996, highlighting stories of poverty, infrastructure decay, decadence, corruption, police excesses, and leadership failure. Perhaps some of her narratives could be true, particularly in the time that immediately followed the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) misrule and the indiscretion of the emergent military regime. However, her stories reek of generalisations and prejudices often associated with most analyses by a section of Western media and commentators. They view Nigeria with their jaundiced lenses, describing the country as made of a Muslim North and Christian South, oblivious of the various Christian minorities in the North and, the plethora of Muslims in the South and the multiplicity of ethnic groups in the two divides that make a mockery of any analysis of a monolithic North or South. They view us Africans with many unproven, unorthodox assumptions.

My problem is with Mrs. Badenoch, an African, whichever way you slice it, and the character she has chosen. When Vice President Shettima lambasted her for demeaning Nigeria, Kemi Badenoch thought she had a clincher:

“I find it interesting that everybody defines me as Nigerian,” she said. “I identify less with the country than with the specific ethnicity (Yoruba). That’s what I am. I have nothing in common with the people from the North of the country, the Boko Haram where the Islamism is; those were our ethnic enemies and yet you end up being lumped in with those people.”

In that statement, the Tory leader disavowed Nigeria and excoriated the North but exalted the Yoruba. She repudiated the whole, attacking one part of the nation but embracing another. Kemi Badenoch grossly misfired, hiding under the finger of ethnic nationalism.

Perhaps it would have been pardonable if, for instance, she opposed Nigeria’s federal system and canvassed regionalism or confederacy. To condemn one race and elevate another is like playing one part against another. That utterance is dangerous in a diverse and volatile society like ours. The North (read the Hausa-Fulani, Kanuri, Tiv, Birom, Mangu, Ibira, Nupe, and many others who cohabit the entire Northern region) is no enemy of the Yoruba as Mrs Badenoch insinuated. The North voted massively for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a Yoruba man, to emerge president in 2023, as they did for the late Bashorun MKO Abiola, the winner of the annulled June 12 election in 1993. To label them the enemies of the Yoruba is condemnable.

Badenoch’s Yoruba roots emphasise good character and promote good neighbourliness, religious harmony, peaceful co-existence, respect for elders, and respect for other people’s rights. That is why Yoruba intermarry with members of different ethnic groups. It’s also commonplace in Yorubaland to find members of the same family having adherents of Islam and Christianity cohabiting together without any hassles. Boko Haram or its last vestiges poses a security challenge, perhaps a religious and sociopolitical challenge, for Nigeria, not just for the North or the North-east which is why the government and our armed forces have battled to a standstill and are still battling the insurgents.

Therefore, the values the UK Conservative leader espoused did not represent the Yoruba. They are not the values the Yoruba would showcase, uphold, and promote. Yoruba has a rich history of culture, tradition, leadership, and loyalty to constituted authority.

Mrs Badenoch’s formative years, which she derided with negative stories of decadence, perfidy, and corruption, were part of Nigeria’s dark periods when the military held the country and the people by the jugular.

Is Kemi Badenoch now giving the impression that nothing has changed in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos, where she grew up after birth in London? Is she giving the impression there have not been significant improvements in the standard of living and infrastructure, with the rehabilitation of existing roads and opening up of new ones; in transportation with the multi-modal system complemented by water transportation and now the rail system, among other things? Despite its challenges, there is no doubt there has been a remarkable development in Lagos from the foundation laid by then Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu (now President Tinubu) from 1999 to 2007 till the present Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to the point that Lagos has emerged as one of largest economies in Africa. Lagos State has made significant progress across all indices of development such that if it were a country, it would have ranked the sixth largest economy on the continent.

What has emerged in the entire Kemi Badenoch’s saga is her seeming double-face or multiple-face. When she was campaigning to represent her diverse Dulwich and West Norwood Constituency in the UK Parliament in 2010, she had appealed to the Nigerian community, comprising Yoruba, Hausa-Fulani and Igbo, under the aegis of “Nigerians for Kemi Badenoch,” pleading for help in the election. A campaign document that surfaced on social media showed she had reached out to all Nigerians in that constituency while highlighting her roots. In that document, Badenoch had said to her Nigerian supporters:

“I need your help. I’m running for parliament in the 2010 UK general elections. The race is very tight. Last year, the News of the World surveyed this constituency, and the forecast was that I would win. Things are much tougher this year as the party has dropped nationally in the polls. I need your help.

“I am asking for your help now to support a Nigerian trying to improve our national image and do something great here.”

After winning the election, however, she deployed her situation in Nigeria as a talking point to rally support for her policies, for which she was accused of exploiting her roots for political gains.

Her rhetoric has drastically changed with her emergence as the Leader of the Conservative Party. In the carriage, conduct and statements, she is now out to please the White establishment, particularly the White wing of her Conservative Party, subjugating her people to make Britain look good. She doesn’t mind running down anyone, including the Nigerian people and the British blacks generally.

Will this advance her politics or status? I do not think so. The British respect culture and tradition. Running down a country’s history and culture may not attract much attention. Britain also respects her relations with other countries, particularly Nigeria, given our age-long relationship. Nigeria is a significant trade and investment partner of the UK in Africa. According to the UK Department for Business and Trade, as of December 20 2024, the total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Nigeria amounted to £7.2 billion in the four quarters up to the end of Q2 2024, an increase of 1.2% or £86 million in current prices from the four quarters to the end of Q2 2023.

Britain would not want to harm that substantial trade partnership and excellent relationship between the two countries in any way.

Also, several Badenoch’s Conservative Party members do not share her attitude towards Nigeria. In Zanzibar, I recently ran into Jake Berry, a top Tory Party member and former Cabinet member in the UK. While discussing the Badenoch matter, he said most Conservative Party members disagreed with her.

Kemi Badenoch has recorded an outstanding achievement in two decades of entering British politics. She joined the Conservative Party at the age of 25. Today, she stands not just as the Leader of the biggest party in Britain’s history but also as the highest black person in the United Kingdom. Her extraordinary accomplishment should have been used to inspire young people to achieve similar feats and as a foundation to inspire positive change in her country of origin, not to denigrate Nigeria or cause division and disaffection among her people. It is not too late for Mrs Badenoch to rethink and toe the line of rectitude.

-Rahman is Senior Special Assistant on Media Matters to President Tinubu.

By Olayinka Oyebode

Two major events that happened at two different locations in Ekiti State earlier in the month, again laid credence to the primacy of capacity, character and compassion in the leadership style of Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji. First was the event at Oke Ako Ekiti, in the north senatorial district, which featured the distribution of cheques totalling N160 million as compensation to land owners whose land were acquired for the commercial farming scheme for young farmers and the flag- off of some newly purchased tractors and other equipment. The second event which came barely 48 hours after was the distribution of cheques totalling N140 million to some young farmers as payment for the farm produce off-taken from them across the six farm clusters.

The gist here is that the chains of activities- the land acquisition, the compensation and the utilisation of the acquired land, the first harvest and the off-taking of the harvested crops as well as the purchase of tractors and other equipment required for the tractorisation policy of the government was completed within the space of six months of the introduction of the scheme, code-named “Bring Back the Youth Into Agriculture” a programme run in partnership with a private investor.

Four weeks earlier, in a move aimed at achieving energy independence and ensuring that his administration’s huge investments in power infrastructure achieve the desired result, Governor Oyebanji had granted operational licence to 14 investors which included three distribution companies, four power generating companies, two mini-grid generation companies and five meter asset providers.

The pace-setting and strategic move is to enhance power generation, ensure efficient distribution and provide reliable metering for residents. The goal is to move the state from the 20-25 mw it gets from the national grid (which falls short of the estimated requirement of 120mw) and move up to 130mw through a robust state grid, reducing dependency on the national supply and promoting sustainable. locally managed energy solutions. Again, the initiative, which aligns with the 2023 Electricity Act, was achieved within the space of a year that also witnessed a massive power upgrade and re-connection of many communities that hitherto were without power supply to the national grid.

Remarkably, Oyebanji is quite intentional about putting smiles on the faces of the people. Moved by the plight of Ekiti pensioners in the face of accumulated gratuities inherited from previous administration, the Governor, had in the last two months paid a total 4.5 billion naira to offset part of the outstanding gratuities. This is outside the regular monthly payment of gratuities. Aside supporting and equipping workers in the state to ensure a more excellent service delivery, the Governor put extra smiles on the faces of Ekiti teachers earlier in the year, when he directed that primary school teachers with degree qualifications should enjoy career progression to level 16 like others. This is in addition to extending car and housing loans to them, thereby bringing them out of an age-long policy that had deprived them.

The community of people with disabilities have also found a champion in Governor Oyebanji, who through his inclusion policy has not only created a government department headed by a cabinet –ranked officials and saddled with their welfare. This has resulted in a greater attention for the welfare and human capital development of PWD, with attendant huge investment in the upgrade of the state special schools and establishment of a trauma centre for children with disabilities.

These, and several other cutting-edge initiatives that authenticate the welfarist approach of his government and underscores his compassionate nature as a leader as well as his sheer determination to create economic opportunities for the people, are what stand Governor Oyebanji out as a true leader of the people, who is happy only when the people are happy and progressing.

And because the people know that “BAO” or “Talk- and- do Governor”, as he is fondly called, is passionate about their welfare and wellbeing, they have chosen to celebrate him not only on his birthday, but on daily basis and with the same level of energy and dexterity with which he serves them.

As the renowned American author and speaker, John C. Maxwell puts it, a leader is someone who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way”. Governor Oyebanji has a clear vision, which he communicates quite eloquently with corresponding actions. He walks the talk and he helps the people achieve their vision and purpose as well. This, many people believe, had provoked critical stakeholders in the state, including all former governors, to endorse him for a second term even before he marked his second anniversary in office.

Those who live by their strength may readily provide an answer to the question bordering on how they surmount obstacles and stay on top of their game. But those who live by the power of the Almighty God and the attendant grace can’t make such boast. Rather, they work hard, they work hand-in- hand with others, and they let God be God over everything- directing each step all the way through the paths that eventually yield boundless rewards. This is the story of the Omoluabi Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji as he clocks fifty-seven years old today.

Those who have followed Oyebanji’s trajectory right from his undergraduate days, know that his political philosophy is built around the social democratic principle of lifting and supporting the weak and the vulnerable in society as well as the biblical injunction of love thy neighbour as yourself. An apostle of soft leadership, BAO’s genuine concerns include how transformational leadership can replace transactional politics; how to build strong institutions that will support growth and development; how to make government wear human face; how to get every citizen to contribute to state and nation building, each utilising his talent, time, platform and resources; and what mechanism should be put in place for genuine and effective empowerment of the citizens towards the attainment of shared prosperity for all.

Governor Oyebanji is disarmingly humble. He proudly wears humility like a garment. He possesses an insatiable appetite for championing good causes. In a recent interviews with state correspondents, he told them the secret of his calmness. According to him, he has committed the state into God’s hands, hence he is not under any pressure. Those who have come in contact with him, and, indeed a vast majority of Ekiti people believe humility remains his greatest asset, and gratitude the most potent weapon in his arsenal. This year alone, he has caused the office of the Secretary to the State Government to issue letters of commendation to no fewer than three members of his cabinet, as well as the chairman of the State Internal Revenue Service, appreciating them on behalf of the government and people of the state for their superlative performances.

As a change agent, BAO believes a leader must live in the hearts of the people by serving them diligently and faithfully, knowing he is accountable to the people and would give account of his stewardship to God one day. He believes trust is a public good without which no great thing can be achieved collectively. Hence, he believes trust has to be earned. As a leader, he embodies creativity, character, competence, and compassion with passion for excellence.

Born on December 21, 1967, in Ikogosi-Ekiti, Oyebanji had his early education in his home state. He bagged a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the Ondo State University (now Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti) in 1989 and Masters’ degree in Political Science (International Relations and Strategic Studies), from the University of Ibadan in 1992.
He started his career as a Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, Ondo State University, Ado-Ekiti, between 1993 – 1997 . He later proceeded to work as Manager, Treasury, and Financial Services at the defunct Omega Bank Plc (now Heritage Bank) till May 1999, when he commenced an illustrious career in politics and governance.

Since embracing public service in 1999, Oyebanji has served in various capacities with different administrations. He also served as Secretary to Ekiti State Government between October 2018 to December 2021, when he resigned his appointment to join the governorship race, which he won on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in June 22, 2022. He was inaugurated Governor of Ekiti State on October 16, 2022.

A devout Christian, Oyebanji sees his career in politics and governance as a divine calling. This philosophy remains his guiding light as he continues to serve God and country diligently as a loyal party man and conscientious public servant.

In recognition of his inspirational life journey, BAO has received many awards and recognitions. He was named Governor of the Year (2023) by Daily Independent Newspaper and Marketing Edge Magazine. He is also a recipient of the Ekiti Exceptional Achievers (MEEA) Award, granted in recognition of his contributions to the creation of Ekiti State as Secretary, State Creation Committee and Secretary, Ekiti State Development Fund.

Oyebanji is married to Dr Olayemi Oyebanji, an Associate Professor of Educational Management, University of Ibadan. They are blessed with three children.

As he celebrates another year of impact, Oyebanji remains an inspiration to both existing and aspiring leaders and a symbol of boundless grace. At 57, his legacy of integrity, innovation, loyalty, diligence and generosity of spirit continues to shape political narratives and inspire generations to come.

• Olayinka Oyebode is Special Adviser (Media) to the Governor, Ekiti State