Firm to unveil Nigeria’s first instant messaging app, Lets Talk

Ms Folashade Ayeni, Chief Operating Officer, Lets Talk I.T& Communications Company

A Telecommunications firm, Lets Talk I.T and Telecommunications Company, says it is working on launching Nigeria’s first instant messaging application, ‘Lets Talk’ before the end of the third quarter of 2022.

The Chief Operating Officer of the company, Ms Folashade Ayeni made this known while speaking with newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.

Ayeni said the application was designed by a team of Nigerian software engineers in line with the vision of the National Information Technology Development Agency ( NITDA) for indigenous companies to come into the social media space.

She said: “Lets Talk was created out of a need that Nigerians and Africans have.

” If you look at it, sometime last year in October, October 4 To be precise, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram crashed. No one was able to use those applications because of one thing or the other.

“Many people lost money, several people were not able to reach families, friends, relatives and do business normally, because a whole lot of people have taken business and relationship to the social media.

“It crashed for about six hours or so and the reality dawned on us that really, whether it was intentional or not on purpose that we could lose everything.

” " So, we thought about owning our social media platform; where Nigerians can have guaranteed communications, with outmost security, which is  Nigerian owned and indigenous to us and for us in Africa."

Ayeni said the company was aiming to collaborate with NITDA, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and other relevant agencies to ensure the success of the application and acceptability by Nigerians.

On the unique features of the app, she said it is end-to-encrypted, allows users to listen and share music, video and audio call, 5,000 member group chat, seven person conference calls and file exchange up to 2GB.

According to her, it also allows for device and cloud caching as well as sharing moments and trends which will give users very pleasant experiences.

She said the application could be downloaded on Google Play and App Store for both android and Apple phones.

Ayeni also explained that the application would be in two parts, Lets Talk Basic which would be a free social media platform while there would be a secondary phase that would be on subscription basis.

“Now, there will be Lets Talk social which is the basic one that everybody knows.
You chat, you speak to people, you do video calls do video conference for free, but there’s a secondary part of it.

“And the secondary part of it is to provide enterprise resource management. So there are people who want to subscribe to that package.

“We are talking about ministries, parastatal agencies, businesses, banks and other sectors that can utilise the platform to improve their businesses and services and that is where value comes in,” she said.

High diesel cost: NARTO seeks review of petrol freight rate

The Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) has called for an upward review of the freight rate for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) due to the high cost of diesel in the country.

NARTO is also asking for access to foreign exchange at official rates for its members for procurement of spare parts for their vehicles to ensure safety and stability in the distribution of petroleum products across Nigeria.

NARTO’s President, Alhaji Yusuf Othman, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos.

Othman said NARTO members were barely surviving as the price of diesel had continued to increase following the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

He said: “Government has to do something urgently about the situation. It is affecting our operations adversely.

“For instance, you fuel a truck with 1,000 litres of diesel, the cost as of today in the market is about N750,000.

“At the end of the day, when you come to Abuja, you are paid N16 per litre for the 45,000 litres you are bringing in which is N720,000.

“That is even less than the cost of the diesel. You have to pay the loading fees, the driver allowance and other costs.

“What we are paid is by far lesser than our expenditure so, how can you cope?

“You cannot survive and some of our members have already parked their trucks and many others will soon join them.”

Othman said the current transport template payable under the N165 per litre petrol pump price was no longer sustainable despite government’s decision to continue subsidy on PMS.

He said apart from depriving the nation of huge funds that could be deployed to other critical areas, it was also encouraging smuggling of petrol across the border to neighbouring countries.

“We believe it is best to fix the price by ourselves but we cannot do that because the pump price remains N165 officially.

“We know the government is doing its best because this problem is not related only to Nigeria.

“The Pipelines and Products Marketing Company is giving us some diesel as palliative at a discounted rate. The marketers too are giving us but for how long can this continue?

“Businesses cannot be sustained on subsidy or palliatives. Businesses should be allowed to run according to market forces.

“The way forward is for government to allow the Petroleum Industry Act to perform maximally to its full potential which include the removal of subsidy on PMS.

“That is the only option because they cannot continue to sustain it,”Othman said

CBN assures EKEDC of support to improve power sector

By Solomon Asowata

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) visited Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) on Wednesday as part of its monitoring and evaluation tour of the CBN-funded Capex intervention facilities for electricity distribution companies in Nigeria. 

The apex bank team was led by the Director of Development Finance, Yusuf Philip Yila; Director of Strategy Management, Clement Buari; and the Director of Trade and Exchange, Ozoemena Nnaji.

In a statement by the EKEDC spokesperson, Godwin Idemudia, the CBN has embarked on several performance improvement projects to reduce the various challenges plaguing the electricity industry in Nigeria.

 The apex bank intervened by funding the procurement, installation, rehabilitation, and replacement of some electricity distribution infrastructure such as 11kv and 33kv feeders, switchgear, and many more to assist the Discos' capacity in the delivery of adequate and reliable power supply to Nigerians. 

In addition to this, the CBN commenced phase zero of the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) in 2020 to address the problem of metering. 

As a result, the CBN monitoring and evaluation team visited the Disco for progress reports on these projects.

In her address, the MD/CEO of Eko Disco, Dr Tinuade Sanda expressed her appreciation to CBN for its effort in improving the power sector. 

She pointed out that CBN-funded Capex projects have aided the Disco in improving its supply to meet the high demand for electricity in its network.

 According to her, the projects have brought about the rehabilitation and replacement of obsolete equipment.

 Concerning metering, Dr. Sanda said, 'the NMMP came at the appropriate time to reduce our losses and cushion the effect of the Service Reflective Tariff.’

Reacting to the progress reports delivered by EKEDC, Mr Phillp Yila commended the Disco for its sheer effort towards the achievement of the Federal Government/CBN intervention schemes.

 He said, 'we are here to ensure that the funds disbursed are adequately utilised, and to listen to the challenges that have emanated in the course of implementing these projects.' 

Yila also emphasised that the National Mass Metering Scheme is very important to the CBN as the tour was also meant to carry out due diligence on the execution of phase zero of the scheme and how the apex bank and the Disco can collaborate better in proceeding to the next phase.

The EKEDC MD/CEO assured CBN that EKEDC is fully committed to the achievement of the projects in which some of which are still ongoing.

 According to her, the rationales for these projects are aligned with Disco's corporate goals and objectives.

 Sanda further explained how EKEDC is diligently working to ensure that these projects are contributing to the company's growth via the establishment of a market review committee that evaluates the performance of the company monthly as well as a prepaid meter monitoring team that ensures meters installed are not bypassed.

NLNG leads stride to gas-powered economy

An analysis by Solomon Asowata, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

 

A cardinal goal of the federal government is to transform the Nigerian economy into a gas-powered economy by 2030.

Ancillary to that is the hope to align the country with the global push for transition to cleaner sources of energy.

To achieve that lofty goal, the federal government adopted gas as the vehicle for its energy transition journey, declaring January 2021 to December 2030 as the Decade of Gas Initiative.

No doubt, the country is blessed with abundant gas resources; 208.62 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of proven gas reserves valued at over 803.9 trillion dollars, and potential upside of 600TCF of gas.

This has fueled the overarching objective of the federal government to utilise the nation’s abundant gas resources for socio-economic growth and development.

In order to actualise this objective, it is imperative for the government to leverage the achievements of the Nigerian LNG Company Ltd. in the global Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) space.

Indeed, experts believe that NLNG, which marked its 33rd anniversary on May 17, has shown by its developmental strides, that the objective is achievable.

Apart from deepening domestic gas utilisation, the NLNG is said to have contributed significantly to the country financially.

According to information on the company’s website, it has so far contributed 100 billion dollars to the federal government’s coffers, and 6.5 billion dollars in taxes since it started operations.

It also paid 13 billion dollars to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd. for feed-gas purchase, and 16 billion dollars in dividends to the federal government.

Acknowledging these achievements, the Federal Inland Revenue Service in a statement signed by its Executive Chairman, Mr Muhammad Nami, on May 16, recognised the NLNG as the Most Supportive Tax Payer in the country.

Prompted by this accolade, Dr Muda Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the NLNG model should be adopted by the government in other public-private-partnership arrangements.

“The NLNG model has worked very well. It might not be perfect but of all the public private partnership arrangements that we have had, the NLNG model seems to be the best so far.

“The beauty of it is that there is practically no interference or very minimum interference in the management of the place. 

“So, there is professionalism in the management, in the allocation of resources, in the recruitment and that has resulted in high level of performance,” he said.

Similarly, Mr Nuhu Yakubu, President, Nigeria Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA) and Managing Director, Banner Energy, said the NLNG was a pride to all Nigerians.

“Not only has the NLNG project endured for 33 years but it is a trail blazer for other similar projects that the Federal Government of Nigeria should mirror in the way NLNG is being administered and managed.

“Aside the huge revenue being generated from the NLNG for the Nigerian government, the company has brought human capital development to bear,” Yakubu said.

He said Nigerians working in NLNG were thorough professionals who were capable of competing with their peers globally.

Yakubu said the impact being made by the NLNG to deepen domestic gas utilisation in Nigeria could not be overemphasised.

“NLNG has gradually progressed from a 150,000MT intervention to the domestic LPG market to 250,000MT to N350,000MT and now to 450,000MT, which is maxing out their entire domestic LPG production to the Nigerian market.

“It is unprecedented and it means NLNG is meeting the yearnings of Nigerians. It is gauging the pulse of Nigerians and responding to it and we wish other corporations of that magnitude can do the same thing.

“We will be able to close the energy gap that we have in Nigeria because we have pervasive domestic energy poverty and need lot of interventions to address the issue so that at least every home in Nigeria will have access to gas.

“The NLNG intervention in the domestic market has catalysed growth and development in infrastructure on the supply side.

“From 2007 when the NLNG intervention started, we had only one terminal in Apapa, Lagos owned by the Pipelines Products Marketing Company.

“Today we have many privately owned coastal terminals across the country and there is also a lot of capital flow for infrastructure development because of the confidence brought in by NLNG,” he said.

However, Mr Michael Umudu, National Chairman, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers (LPGAR), branch of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), said NLNG needed to do more to ensure supply of LPG in the domestic market.

Umudu said the total amount allocated to the domestic market was insufficient as about 60 per cent of LPG being consumed in Nigeria was imported.

Mr Philip Mshelbila, Chief Executive Officer, NLNG, said the NLNG had for the past 33 years vigorously pursued its vision of being “a globally competitive LNG company, helping to build a better Nigeria.

“Our company has touched lives in significant areas such as economic empowerment, health, education, infrastructure development and sustainable community development.

“Over the years, it harnessed natural gas that would have otherwise been flared, thereby contributing immensely to a cleaner environment. 

“And by delivering 100 per cent of its LPG production into the domestic market, it helps Nigerians transition to cleaner cooking fuels.”

Also, the NLNG said the ongoingTrain 7 project would help the company increase its allocation to the domestic market.

It said the project was expected to ramp up NLNG’s production capacity by 35 per cent from 22mtpa to around 30mtpa.

The company noted that the project would form part of the investment of over 10 billion dollars, including the upstream scope of the LNG value chain, thereby increasing dividends and taxes accruing to the government.

Incorporated as a Limited Liability company on May 17, 1989, the NLNG was set up to harness Nigeria’s vast natural gas resources and produce Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) for export. 

The establishment of NLNG is backed by the Nigeria LNG (Fiscal Incentives, Guarantees and Assurances) Act. Cap N87, Laws of Federation of Nigeria 2004.

The law, amongst other things, provides for the guarantees and assurances by the federal government to the company and its shareholders.

The NLNG is an incorporated Joint-Venture owned by four shareholders: the federal government, represented by NNPC Ltd. (49 per cent), Shell Gas B.V. (25.6 per cent), Total Gaz Electricite Holdings France (15 per cent) and Eni International N.A. N. V. S.àr.l (10.4 per cent). 

Today, NLNG has a total production capacity of 22 Million Tons Per Annum (mtpa) of LNG and 5mtpa of Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) from its six-train plant complex. 

The company has 16 long-term Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) with 10 buyers and controls about six per cent of global LNG trade. 

By the strides of NLNG in its 33 years of existence, and the groundswell of goodwill, many Nigerians, and experts, believe that the company has the wherewithal to lead Nigeria’s march towards a gas-powered economy

EKEDC, NERC engage customers to improve service delivery

Dr Tinuade Sanda, Managing Director, EKEDC and other management staff at the stakeholders engagement forum on Thursday in Ojo,Lagos.

By  Solomon Asowata

Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) on Thursday  held a town hall meeting with customers under its Ojo Business District.

The electricity Distribution Company said the meeting was a continuation of the strategic plan by the Company to engage the electricity consumers across its franchise area for improved service delivery based on feedbacks.

 Also on Wednesday, May 11, EKEDC also commenced its participation in a three-day customer engagement forum organised by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for electricity consumers in Lagos at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Festac.

The company in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Mr Godwin Idemudia, Eko DisCo stated that EKEDC boss, Dr Tinuade Sanda and her Management team visited Ojo, Agbara and Festac districts.

The statement said it was in continuation of her districts and stakeholder engagement to get on the spot feedback and review for possible solution challenges in the areas of power supply, vandalism and other factors mitigating against service delivery to customers.

Sanda and her team later joined the Ojo district management at the town hall meeting to engage with the customers of the district the areas before engaging the customers in the town hall to listen to their issues and challenges with a bid to proffer speedy resolutions. 

The  team addressed the issues raised by customers and promised to get them resolved and subsequently improve DisCo’s customer satisfaction index.

At the NERC customer engagement forum, the NERC Commissioner for Consumer Engagement, Mrs Aisha Mahmud explained that the exercise is part of the nationwide engagement by the Commission to enlighten the public about electricity consumers’ rights and obligations.

She said it was also to create more awareness about NERC to customers across the networks of all the DisCos.

According to her, the forum also provided an avenue for Discos to engage customers and representatives of various CDAs within their coverage network for them to air their complaints and make enquiries as well as having opportunity for on the spot issues resolution.

Mahmud highlighted that in addition to enlightening the customers about their rights and obligations, the Commission has also organised the forum to address issues such as estimated billing (capping order), metering, electricity tariffs, and investment plan by the DisCo. 

"The Regulator has made several efforts to resolve these issues, but they persist, and that is why we are here with Eko DisCo to engage the customers," she said.

Eko DisCo was represented by its Dr Tinuade Sanda; Chief Commercial Officer, Mrs Rekhiat Mommoh; Chief Customer Experience Officer, Mrs Catherine Ezeafulukwe, and other members of the management team. 

Sanda assured the customers that the Company has already embarked on many projects to improve power supply and prompt resolutions to complaints.

She encouraged them to embrace the metering scheme (MAP) to put the issue of estimated billing to rest.

 Sanda further advised customers against patronising unauthorised entities to get meters and report any case of unscrupulous elements to the Company’s whistleblowing channels.  

On his part, Idemudia equally reiterated that customers should desist from illegal activities such as meter bypass, meter tampering, vandalism, and assault of staff, which do not only affect the DisCo but the entire power industry.

 According to him, NERC has approved penalties for these criminal offences and EKEDC will ensure that offenders face the wrath of the law for any of these crimes. 

"Every customer has a responsibility of protecting the industry," he added.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Rainoil marks 25th anniversary, pledges commitment to development of downstream sector

By Solomon Asowata

Mr Gabriel Ogbechie, Group Managing Director, Rainoil Ltd., says the company is committed to the development of the petroleum downstream value chain, which is critical to Nigeria’s economic growth.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ogbechie made this known in an interactive session with newsmen on Thursday in Lagos to mark the company’s 25th anniversary.

Ogbechie said Rainoil Ltd. which started operations in May 1997 had grown to become a prominent player in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, providing employment opportunities for about 2,000 Nigerians.

He said: “In the last 25 years, we have been able to achieve great feats in the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

“From the retail business, where we now have presence in 26 states with over 130 stations, to being the only player in the downstream sector with bulk storage facilities strategically located in three key locations in the country.

“We equally established the company, Rainoil Logistics Services Ltd., which drives the delivery of our energy products to our esteemed customers nationwide.

“We have also recently deepened Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) penetration in the country with the launch of our ultra-modern 8,000MT LPG storage facility in Ijegun, Lagos.”

According to him, Rainoil Ltd. has continued its upward trajectory through strategic planning, innovation and creating a conducive working environment for its employees.

Ogbechie said the company had also ensured that it gave back to the society and its host communities through its various Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

This, he said, included construction of a block of classroom at Oghareki Grammar School, Oghara, in Delta, distribution of educational materials to students, health care interventions and sports development among others.

He said going forward, the company would key into the ongoing transition to cleaner sources of energy including the Federal Government’s autogas plan, which was aimed at reducing Nigeria’s dependence on petrol.

Ogbechie, however, advised the government to remove subsidy on petrol, adding that the humungous amount spent on subsidy was draining the nation financially.

He said the money saved from the removal of subsidy could be channeled to funding other critical areas, especially education. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

EKEDC new boss assures customers of improved service delivery

(L-R) Mrs Veronica Ugbo, Business Manager Ijora District, EKEDC, Mr Joseph Esenwa, Chief Finance Officer; EKEDC, Dr Tinuade Sanda, Managing Director, EKEDC and Mr Olumide Jerome, General Manager,Commercial Loss Reduction at the EKEDC’s customer engagement forum on Thursday in Lagos.

By Solomon Asowata

Dr Tinuade Sanda, the Managing Director, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), on Thursday assured the company’s customers of improved service delivery during her leadership.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sanda made the assurance during a town hall meeting with customers from Ijora Badiya, Surulere, Tejuosho, Yaba and Ojuelegba areas of Lagos State.

The newly appointed managing director said her core responsibility was to steer the leadership of the company and the entire EKEDC team to ensure operational and service excellence to customers.

She said: “This is a top priority for me. The past few months have been challenging for us as a company and for you – our esteemed customers.

“We have experienced several grid collapses and vandalism of some of our facilities which have affected the quality of our services to you.”

According to her, the engagement with customers is aimed at listening to their concerns and challenges in order to work together and proffer lasting solutions to the issues.

Sanda said many of the DisCo’s customers were metered under the Phase Zero of the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), adding that the next phase was yet to start.

She said customers who could not wait should take advantage of the ongoing Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme to procure prepaid meters for their premises to reduce cases of tariff disputes and estimated billing.

Sanda also charged the customers to report people engaging in energy theft and meter bypass within their localities to ensure right billing of customers.

On alleged unprofessional conduct of some EKEDC employees, she advised customers to forward such complaints to the electricity distribution company for them to be properly sanctioned.

A customer, Prince Adeleye Abolade, representing Surulere area, called for improved relationship between the DisCo and customers, especially in rectifying faults within the network.

Abolade noted that customers were willing to pay their electricity bills especially if they were getting quality power supply from EKEDC.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)