General News
Umeh Urges FG to Further Explore Gas as Nigeria’s Future
Following the recent global plunge in oil prices primarily as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the CEO of a power generating company, Century Power Generation Ltd, Dr. Chukwueloka Umeh says there is no better time than now for the Federal Government (FG) to take definitive and courageous steps towards diversifying Nigeria’s economy.
In the face of the cyclic oil prices, we must now see a Nigeria without oil and immediately start diversifying to agriculture and manufacturing. In order to do this successfully, the gas and power industries need to be unshackled and supported to encourage substantial private investments and growth.
Speaking during an online interactive session with the media, Dr. Umeh said that it is still unthinkable that despite the fact that Nigeria has the world’s ninth-largest deposit, it still grapples with power generation and distribution issues in spite of millions of dollars spent on foreign experts, countless committees, public-private stakeholder meetings, and so on.
“Nigeria should essentially be a gas-producing country that happens to produce some oil. It is time to do things differently. We should stop the endless committee meetings, conferences and engagements.
“Pick a set of regulations, such as the ones that birthed the only project-financed power plant in Nigeria to date, Azura power, respect contracts and the rule of law to give local and foreign investors comfort, and just get it done.
“We have all the expertise we need to make the industry work, so let’s stop searching for the perfect solution elsewhere. Take whatever we have, and just make it work.’’
He said investors are not ploughing the much-needed resources into gas and power projects for several reasons, including constantly changing regulations, difficulty in enforcing agreements, ease of doing business, and unrealistic tariffs.
The Federal Government needs to relax its regulations enough to allow a real gas and power sector to come into existence and actually grow in a measurable form, driven by the private sector in partnership with the FG. Market forces and competition should be allowed to drive gas and power tariffs rather than allowing the prices to be set by a regulator.
He argued that government’s role should be limited to providing appropriate regulations that will catalyze private entities to drive the much-needed diversification in the country.
He cited the example of several private estates in Lagos where steady, uninterrupted power is being supplied to as a result of the cost-reflective tariffs that the residents pay, which is far less than what they would have paid to operate fuel or diesel generators with the related health and safety hazards they come with.
This, according to him can be replicated on a larger scale across the country if the companies within the entire gas and power value chain are allowed to work under relaxed regulations as well as charge cost-reflective tariffs.
Speaking further on the issue, Dr Umeh praised the Federal Government’s efforts so far to deregulate the power sector but urged them to do more and do it with more urgency to help stem the alarming growth in the unemployment rate in the country.
Dr. Umeh argued that once the power industry is working and adequate power supply is guaranteed, investors will begin to see the country as an investment destination.
“We must, however, understand that the privatization of power does not guarantee immediate availability of power because it takes at least three years to build a power plant from groundbreaking to actual generation.
“Private companies should be encouraged and incentivized to build power plants as well as strengthen transmission and distribution networks knowing that their investments will eventually be recovered through cost-reflective tariffs.”
One of such projects is the Century Power Okija IPP, which is projected to generate about 1500 MW of power when its three phases are completed.
He pointed out that a lot of businesses have been disrupted due to the global pandemic and that money is in limited supply in Nigeria because of our over-dependence on oil for foreign exchange given this situation, diversification is urgently required to help the economy rebound in a sustainable manner.
“If we go back to basics by thinking of a Nigeria without oil, we can begin to look at developing other sectors such as gas, manufacturing, agriculture, just to name a few.
Federal government recently received a proposed protocol agreement from India that could pave the way for agricultural cooperation between the two countries.
Abishek Singh, India’s high commissioner to Nigeria, announced the proposal recently n Abuja during the India-Nigeria Business Forum on Agriculture and Allied Sectors.
New Delhi’s proposed cooperation would support Nigeria’s food security efforts, with the goal of reducing post-harvest losses by nearly 50% and expanding agricultural processing.
It would also cover technology transfers, mechanization, financing solutions and capacity building.
Abuja has opened similar discussions with China.
Only recently, Mukhtar Muhammed, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, said Nigeria wanted to deepen scientific and technological cooperation with Beijing in agriculture.
The discussions with China have focused on developing low-cost, solar-powered cold storage facilities and transferring food-processing technologies.
Nigeria, also wants to work with Chinese research institutes to develop infrastructure that can improve the preservation of perishable products.
Nigeria’s outreach to its Asian partners addresses a major problem for the agricultural sector.
The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) estimates that Africa’s most populous country loses 30 million to 40 million tons of food each year before it reaches consumers.
Those losses are worth an average of about N3.5 trillion ($2.5 billion) annually, according to data the institution presented at a workshop in Kaduna in July 2026.
Perishable products are particularly vulnerable, according to local media reports, with fruits and vegetables accounting for an estimated 40% to 50% of total losses.
The government has already launched its own response to the problem.
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) indicted the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and other ministries over administrative lapses that allowed the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) to operate.
Musa Aliyu, chairman, ICPC, stated that NITDA, alongside the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Budget Office, and other bodies, failed to carry out adequate due diligence and standard operating procedures.
ICPC said however, clarified that the findings pointed to severe internal control weaknesses and administrative negligence rather than active official complicity by NITDA and the other affected agencies.
The briefing followed a 30-day investigation ordered by the president on July 7 into allegations surrounding the purported presidential council.
The commission also cleared the presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of any wrongdoing but blamed institutional lapses in several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
Aliyu said investigators established that Adeniyi Adeyemi, the director-general, was never appointed by the federal government and that the PFIPC had no legal existence.
“As you may recall, on the 7th of July, Mr. President directed the ICPC to conduct an investigation into the fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and submit a report within 30 days,” he said.
“Today, exactly within the stipulated period, we have submitted an interim report based on our interactions with all stakeholders involved.”
According to Aliyu, Tinubu directed the commission to make its findings public in the interest of transparency and accountability.
He said the investigation found that Adeyemi’s purported appointment letter was forged.
“It has been established that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was never appointed by the Federal Government or any authority whatsoever,” he said.
“The Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, which sometimes they called the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was never established by any law, executive order or any valid instrument of government.
“The appointment letter presented by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was completely forged alongside similar documents used to perpetuate the illegal activities of the fake agency.”
Aliyu stated that a purported government gazette used to legitimise the organisation was also fabricated.
“If you recall, there was a gazette which he used to support the fake agency. That gazette is an illegal document that never passed through the processes prescribed by law,” he stated.
“Our investigation found that the office used by the fake agency was the office of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. The office was broken into and access was gained illegally. That was how he was able to operate from there.”
Aliyu also revealed that investigators uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies allegedly created by the suspect — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency/Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP).
According to him, fake legislative instruments were used to create the agencies and open bank accounts.
Despite the elaborate scheme, the ICPC chairman said the investigation found no evidence that federal government funds were disbursed to the fake council.
“Our investigation found that no funds of the federal government were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC,” he said.
“We also discovered no weaknesses in the systems of the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria during our investigation. The fake appointment letter did not originate from the presidency.
“Our investigation found that some public officers failed to carry out due diligence and failed to comply with standard operating procedures in their ministries and departments. That gave him the opportunity to carry out these illegal acts.”
Nigeria tax system is build on taxing prosperity not poverty, according to Dr. Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).
Dr. Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service
Adedeji, also dismissed the insinuation that the government’s tax reform is aimed at extracting money from Nigerians .
He said the essence of reform is creating an economic environment where individuals and businesses can prosper.
Dr. Adedeji made the clarifications on Sunday night while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he defended the administration’s tax reforms and addressed concerns over rising government revenue amid the economic hardship facing Nigerians.
According to him, the government’s objective is to tax the fruits of investment rather than the investment itself.
“For us at Nigeria Tax, we are not there to extract. Our focus is not revenue. I don’t want to tax poverty. I’m to tax the fruit, not the seed, and I’m to tax the return, not investment.”
Adedeji explained that the government would generate more revenue as businesses became more profitable, without necessarily increasing the tax burden on individuals and companies.
He said a company that made N100 in profit could generate N30 in tax revenue for the government, but if its profit increased to N200 or N300, government revenue would rise accordingly.
“So, if I want to make more, I must work for you to make more. And that is why it is in the best interest of us in Nigeria Revenue Service that businesses are doing well, individuals are doing well,” he said.
He said the approach was consistent with President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda, which seeks to remove barriers to investment and create a more conducive environment for businesses to operate and expand.
Adedeji cited reforms in the electricity sector as part of the government’s efforts to stimulate economic activity.
He noted that the Electricity Act had devolved powers to state governments to generate, transmit and distribute electricity, arguing that improved power supply would boost production and productivity across the economy.
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