Newscast - Africa

The Department of Petroleum Resources says Investors have proposed to spend over $500m in building gas pipelines and other facilities in Nigeria following the implementation of the Nigerian Gas Transportation Network Code that was launched last year.
The Director and Chief Executive Officer, DPR, Mr Sarki Auwalu, says through the implementation of the network code, the DPR was able to improve the much-needed market alignment between critical demand points for gas and available supply opportunities.
He says the agency had so far issued 12 shipper licences, with three licences under processing; one transporter licence; and three agent licences.
He says the network code had improved investors’ confidence in the evolving domestic gas market.

Nigerian Lawmakers say the infighting among members of the executive arm of government and political intrigues in Nigeria are key issues stalling the growth of the power sector.
Chairman, House Committee on Power, Magaji Aliyu, Aliyu, stated that findings by the committee had shown that many Nigerians were paying for electricity that they did not consume.
He says the power sector is in a big problem because of the lack of efficient and dynamic policies.
Aliyu added that there are political machinations not to allow power to grow in this country adding that there are machinations to interfere with the power sector generally.

A new report by SBM Intelligence, a geopolitical and socioeconomic research firm, claimed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation incurred a loss of N473.3bn in operating moribund refineries between January 2015 and February 2021.
It further stated that the refineries had not been fully utilised over the years, adding that they had been unproductive since July 2019 despite the huge costs of maintaining them.
The report says that the Nigerian government had been bent on wasting money in this area, adding that the Federal Executive Council approved $1.5bn to rehabilitate the Port-Harcourt refinery in March and $1.48bn was approved for the Kaduna and Warri refineries.

The Minister of State for Power, Mr Goddy Jedy-Agba, says investments of over $400bn are required for Nigeria to achieve universal energy access by 2030 and net-zero emission targets by 2050.
Jedy-Agba shared the challenges facing the country in delivering energy to the 25 million Nigerians without access to energy using solar home systems and mini-grids.
The minister reassured delegates of the readiness of the country to participate in the forthcoming COP26 UN Climate Change Conference.
He says Nigeria would seek to align its position along with an energy transition that is equitable, inclusive and just.

Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany will earmark up to 30 billion euros to rebuild after last month’s deadly floods that washed away homes, businesses and critical infrastructure.
Merkel says the costs will be shared between the federal government and the 16 states calling it a sign of national solidarity.
NRW state premier Armin Laschet, says his region has not had to rebuild thousands of destroyed homes at once since World War II.
Merkel and regional leaders agreed to improve the country’s warning system, including by providing states with up to 88 million euros to upgrade and install sirens by 2023.

Twitter says it had suspended the account of controversial US lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch supporter of former Republican President Donald Trump, for a week over a “misleading” tweet on coronavirus vaccines.
The tweet says the US Food and Drug Administration should not give final approval to anti-coronavirus vaccines, with Greene saying they were “failing” and did not curb the spread of the virus.
Twitter labelled the message misleading and suggested that users consult the information provided by US health authorities about vaccines and mask-wearing.
The platform’s rules on Covid misinformation state that a seven-day suspension comes with a fourth violation of the site’s terms of use.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed issued a call for all eligible civilians to join the armed forces as fighting rages in multiple regions of Africa’s second-most populous nation.
Abiy’s office in a statement says now is the right time for all capable Ethiopians who are of age to join the Defense Forces, Special Forces and militias and show their patriotism.
Abiy ordered security forces to halt the destruction of the treasonous and terrorist TPLF organisation and the machinations of foreign hands once and for all.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa is due to appear on Wednesday morning before the country's corruption inquiry.
It was set up to investigate allegations that his predecessor Jacob Zuma - during his term in office - allowed the wealthy Gupta family to plunder state resources and to influence policy and cabinet appointments.
The corruption is estimated to have cost South Africa $81bn in public funds and lost opportunities.
He has been called to answer questions on what the party knew, if anything, about the alleged misconduct and if they did anything to try to stop it.

The federal government says it is targeting to commence local manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines in the next 12 months.
The Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, says the agency has commenced clinical trials on three local herbal medicinal products for the treatment of the virus.
Adeyeye says the government was concerned about the absence of medicine security and its implications for the healthcare needs of the people.
She says the federal government was particularly worried about current challenges posed by an inadequate supply of the vaccines to take care of millions of Nigerians, adding that the government was working diligently to start local manufacturing of the vaccine.

The Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has reiterated the need for Nigeria to diversify its economy from crude oil, noting that the nation could earn as much as $20bn annually from the cultivation and production of oil palm.
Obaseki, says the decline in prices of crude oil and the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance and urgency to diversify the country’s economy, creating an alternative source of revenue.
The governor says his government was investing hugely in the agricultural sector to boost the state’s economy, tackle food insecurity and create wealth for Edo citizens.
He noted that to effectively and efficiently encourage investors, the state launched the Edo State Oil Palm Programme in partnership with other private sector stakeholders including the Central Bank of Nigeria.