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MRA Inducts TCN into ‘Hall of Shame’ for Power Outages

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Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has named the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) as this week’s inductee into the Freedom of Information (FOI) Hall of Shame for leaving Nigerians in the dark over its operations and activities arising from its flagrant disregard of several provision of the FOI Act, including its failure to submit annual reports and disclose information proactively, among others.

 

The TCN, ITRealms gathered, manages the electricity transmission network in Nigeria and is one of the 18 companies that emerged from the unbundling of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in April 2004.

 

It is a product of a merger of the transmission and system operations parts of PHCN.  It was incorporated in November 2005 and issued a transmission license on July 1, 2006.

 

The TCN is currently fully owned and operated by the Federal Government.

 

It carries out activities which include electricity transmission, systems operation and electricity trading as well as taking responsibility for evacuating electric power generated by the electricity generating companies (GenCos) and wheeling such power to the distribution companies (DisCos).

 

In a statement in Lagos, Ms Eseohe Ojo, MRA’s Programme Manager in charge of Digital Rights, noted that as part of the reform programme of the Federal Government, the TCN is to be reorganised and restructured to improve its reliability and expand its capacity in the power sector.”

 

She interpreted the proposed reorganization and restructuring as evidence of a clear failure on the part of TCN to effectively carry out its mandate and the Federal Government’s recognition of public dissatisfaction with the company’s performance of its functions.

 

Ms Ojo accused the company of failing to use “the most essential tool in its toolbox, which is the Freedom of Information Act, in ensuring that Nigerians are well informed, updated and carried along in its operations, businesses and activities, which might have resulted in public understanding of its challenges and generated the necessary public sympathy for it.”

 

According to her, despite the fact that the core functions of the TCN ought to be guided by the principles of transparency, accountability and integrity, among others, “it has chosen to operate in silence and secrecy, thereby depriving Nigerians of the right to be informed while at the same time failing to deliver to them in an efficient manner an essential public service.”

 

She noted that since the coming into force of the FOI Act in 2011, the company had failed to submit a single annual report on its implementation of the Act to the Attorney General of the Federation, thereby violating section 29 (1) of the Act as well as the more detailed requirements contained in the Guidelines for the Implementation of the FOI Act, issued by the Attorney-General of the Federation in the exercise of his powers under the Act.

 

Ms Ojo said the TCN had also contravened the section 2 (3)(d)(i) and (e)(iii) of the Act as it failed to proactively disclose information relating to the receipt and expenditure of public or other funds of the institution as well as information containing applications for any contracts made by or between the company and another public institution or private organization, which includes the foreign loans of $1.5 billion and $500 million that it received for its operations and contract processes.

 

She added that this action had already caused the House of Representatives of the National Assembly to institute an investigation into the violation by the TCN of the Constitution, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, and the Public Procurement Act in October 2017.

 

Ms Ojo also cited as a further breach of the FOI Act by the TCN its failure to publish on its website or on any other public platform, the title and address of the appropriate officer to whom applications for information under the Act should be made, as required by Section 2(3) (f) of the Act, evidencing a clear lack of intention to provide members of the public with information as it is obliged to do by the Act.

 

She said the TCN had apparently also not trained its officials on the public’s right of access to information or records held by it and for the effective implementation of the Act as required by Section 13 of the Act.

 

Ms Ojo also accused the company of non-responsiveness to requests for information made to it under the FOI Act and cited as an example, requests made on several occasions by the Abuja-based non-governmental organization, Public and Private Development Centre (PPDC),  for information in the custody of the TCN, which were never granted or even answered.

 

She said: “One should perhaps not be surprised by this lack of responsiveness on the part of the TCN to requests for information as it is apparent from its failure or refusal to designate an appropriate official to whom such requests for information should be directed that it never intended to respond to any such request for information, regardless of whatever the FOI Act stipulates.”

 

Ms Ojo observed that although the TCN listed the names and titles of its management team on its website, it, failed to disclose the names, salaries, titles and dates of employment of all its employees, as required by the FOI Act.

She also noted that the TCN has failed to list the classes of records under its control in sufficient detail to facilitate the exercise of the right to information under the Act as well as the manuals used by its employees in administering or carrying out any of the programmes or activities of the institution as required by Section 2 (3)(b) of the Act.

 

Launched in July 2017, the “FOI Hall of Shame” draws attention to public officials and institutions undermining the effectiveness of the Freedom of Information Act through their actions, inactions, utterances and decisions.

 


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Detained Binance executive drags EFCC, NSA to court

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Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan has has dragged the National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to court alleging violations of his fundamental rights.

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In a filing dated March 18 and presented by his lawyer Olujoke Aliyu from Aluko and Oyebode Law Firm, Gambaryan sought redress before Justice Inyang Ekwo, requesting five reliefs. Similarly, Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager who escaped custody on March 22, initiated a separate suit before Justice Ekwo.

Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, in the suits marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/356/24 and FHC/ABJ/CS/355/24, had sued the Office of NSA (ONSA) and EFCC as 1st and 2nd respondents.

Gambaryan, a US citizen overseeing financial crime compliance at the crypto exchange platform, alleged that his detention and the confiscation of his international travel passport violated Section 35 (1) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution, constituting a breach of his fundamental right to personal liberty. He further requested the court to order his immediate release and the return of his passport. Additionally, he sought an injunction preventing further detention related to any Binance investigations and demanded a public apology from the respondents, along with costs incurred.

Gambaryan stated that he visited Nigeria on February 26 alongside Nadeem Anjarwalla, representing Binance, in response to invitations from ONSA and EFCC. Despite attending the meeting as requested, both were detained afterward without formal charges.

During the court proceedings, T.J. Krukrubo, SAN, representing Anjarwalla and Gambaryan, informed the court of the respondents’ absence despite being served. Krukrubo also mentioned their notice of withdrawal of legal representation for Anjarwalla, filed on March 26.

Justice Ekwo noted the withdrawal of legal representation and adjourned the matter to April 8 to allow the applicants to seek new representation and give the respondents an opportunity to appear.

In Gambaryan’s case, Krukrubo stated that although the processes were served on ONSA and EFCC, they still had time to respond. He requested an adjournment, indicating that the respondents’ deadline to file their applications would expire the following week.

Consequently, Justice Ekwo scheduled the next hearing for April 8 to continue proceedings.


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AXA Mansard Empowers Female SMEs with Financial, Digital Skills

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AXA Mansard, a member of AXA has empowered 200 female Small and Medium Enterprises with financial literacy and digital business skills.

In collaboration with SME 100 Africa, the two-day training, which was held in Lagos, is part of AXA’s lined-up programmes to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day.

Speaking, Olusesan Ogunyooye, Head of Marketing AXA Mansard, said the training was aimed to empower female SME owners with skills to improve business output and position them for the increasing economic opportunities available in an increasingly digital marketplace.

Ogunyooye noted that the move was in line with AXA Mansard’s sustainability agenda, explaining that the company was convinced that support for women through its inclusive protection programmes was pivotal to its purpose of acting for human progress by protecting what matters and its mission of moving from being a payer to a partner.

He further said that focusing on digital skills was important because the company realised the importance of digital skills to the growth of the SME sector in Nigeria and wants to ensure that women were empowered enough to be a consequential part of that growth.

“It’s almost trite to say that SMEs are the engine for economic growth, especially in developing countries like Nigeria, where over 45 million adults are business owners. What needs to be continually discussed is how Nigeria is going to unlock that potential for economic development and how much of that potential will be unlocked by women and for women.”

“For us at AXA Mansard, we are aware that digital will play a major role in unlocking these current opportunities and Nigeria’s economic future. So, to ensure that women are equally represented in unlocking these future potentials, that’s why we have collaborated with SME 100 Africa to support them in developing the required skills”.

“Our choice of digital and financial literacy skills is deliberate. We understand the power of the duo. We understand that helping these SMEs with the skills to attract more customers will be a faster means to empower them.

“We see that they have amazing products and services, but they need to understand how to attract value for themselves by attracting the right customers, and you will agree with me that virtually all customer segments are online in one way or another today.

“So, if we can empower them with digital business skills, we would have helped them with the heavy lifting of trying to find and attract customers”. Ogunyooye explained.

According to him, AXA Mansard believes that for the world to experience progress truly, there must be an equitable distribution of creation and access to opportunities for men and women. This quest for balance informed the SHE for Shield initiative, a women-centred inclusive protection programme of AXA Mansard.

SHE for Shield is a group of initiatives designed for the Nigerian woman. The goal is to see them grow, add value, and help them mitigate risks at every step.

According to the company, research has found that access to health care is one of the most important things to Nigerian women, regardless of their economic segment. They desire to be financially independent, secure, and respected in the community.

 


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IFC Invests in New 4DX Ventures Fund to Support Tech Startups in Africa

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IFC is investing $10.5 million in a new fund by 4DX Ventures, a New York-based venture capital firm focused on supporting early-stage African technology companies across a broad set of sectors, including fintech, e-commerce, edtech, climate tech, and health tech.

IFC’s investment in 4DX Ventures Fund III will come from IFC’s $225 million venture capital platform, which was launched last year to strengthen emerging VC ecosystems and invest in early-stage companies in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan.

Africa is among the regions least served by venture capital, receiving just 2% of global venture deal volume in the third quarter of 2023. Access to capital on the continent has been further exacerbated by a slowdown in global venture capital investment.

Tech ecosystems are nascent, or even nonexistent, outside of more established markets such as Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa.

“IFC and 4DX Ventures share the commitment to supporting tech entrepreneurs with innovations that will help Africa leapfrog in critical areas such as climate, health care, fintech, e-commerce, and education,” said Walter Baddoo, Co-Founder and General Partner of 4DX Ventures.

“We look forward to partnering with IFC to help promising tech startups build transformative businesses and realize sustainable development impact on the continent.”

4DX’s new fund will invest in companies with tech solutions that can improve productivity, efficiency and competitiveness across Africa. The firm’s first two funds invested in companies such as Egypt-based e-commerce platform MaxAB, an IFC portfolio company; Ghana-based health tech firm mPharma; and Kenya-based B2B e-commerce platform Wasoko, formerly known as Sokowatch.

“By supporting the development of tech ecosystems in emerging markets, IFC’s venture capital platform aims to improve access to key services, boost business competitiveness, and promote job creation through digital transformation,” said Mohamed Gouled, Vice President of Industries at IFC.

“Our investment in venture funds such as 4DX Ventures will help African entrepreneurs access more financing and resources they need to scale tech innovations and bolster sustainable growth across the continent.

In addition to providing capital, IFC will work with 4DX Ventures to implement their environmental and social management system.


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