The Federal Government has approved plans to build a new Eastern-Western electricity grid as part of efforts to address Nigeria’s recurring power grid collapses.

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this at the recent HBSAN energy conference in Lagos, where he outlined plans to address longstanding weaknesses in the country’s electricity transmission infrastructure.

Tegbe said the government is preparing to begin the procurement process for the projects, adding that Nigerians would begin to see their benefits in two to three years.

He revealed that the government has started a technical audit across the entire country to understand the issues with the power sector and to know what should be prioritised.

“We have clustered Nigeria into three energy zones. The first one is the one that demands 50 per cent. If you fix Lagos and you fix the Abuja corridors, you’ve solved more than half of the problem of Nigeria. Because you can’t do that alone based on operational efficiency, you also have to build out your grid.

The President has approved that we commence the process of building out the grid: East and Western grid. We’re going through the procurement process, but it’s something you’ll see the benefits in two to three years,” the Minister said.

The minister said the technical audit of electricity infrastructure is to identify faults and determine which facilities require urgent repairs or replacement.

He said the exercise was intended to ensure that interventions addressed the actual causes of problems rather than directing funds towards the wrong equipment.

“We have started a technical audit across the entire country to say where do we have issues, and what issues specifically do we have. I don’t want to fix transformer issues where I have conductor and relay problems. I don’t want to fix insulators where the challenges I actually have are towers. So, we will finish that technical audit in the next couple of weeks. When we finish it, we then target our prioritised areas,” he said.

Tegbe attributed some of the challenges facing the transmission network to the age of its infrastructure, saying certain facilities dated back several decades.

He maintained that some transmission towers and lines were inherited from an era when the Electricity Company of Nigeria operated before the National Electric Power Authority.

“This government has inherited a problem of 50 years. Before I became the Minister of Power, honestly, I used to think that everybody in the power sector just didn’t know their left from right. But the reality is, some of the towers have gone down with some of the transmission lines there.

“When I went to the site, I saw some of them carrying the logo of ECN. Many people in this room might not know what ECN is. ECN predated NEPA. So, some of these things were built 50 years ago. That is the reality,” he stated.

Source: punchng.com

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The International Monetary Fund has advised Nigeria against restoring blanket petrol subsidy, urging the Federal Government to channel support towards vulnerable citizens as rising energy costs put pressure on households.

The Director of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, Rodrigo Valdés, gave the advice on Wednesday while responding to a question about calls for the return of petrol subsidy in Nigeria ahead of elections, during the IMF and World Bank Group annual meetings in Bangkok, Thailand.

Valdés acknowledged the political pressure governments face when fuel prices rise but said blanket subsidies were costly and that available resources would be better used to support people most affected by higher energy prices.

He said, “At the end of the day, it’s very tempting politically speaking because it’s not trivial the political effect of the price of oil, of fuels, of gasoline, of diesel.

“But you have to explain that this is a global shock, first. Second, that it’s very, very expensive for the country not to recognise that shock.

“And third, it’s much better to use some of that money that would you spend in the subsidies channeled towards more vulnerable people.”

He added that targeted support was preferable to a blanket subsidy, saying: “Yeah, gasoline could go up and perhaps bus fees may be subsidised in a way. That is a much better policy at the end of the day than just a blanket subsidy for everybody.”

He said governments should consider targeted assistance rather than keeping fuel prices artificially low for all consumers.

The IMF has argued that broad-based fuel subsidies are expensive and often disproportionately benefit higher-income consumers, who tend to consume more fuel.

The advice comes as Nigeria faces renewed pressure over petrol prices following increases in global energy costs.

The Federal Government recently announced a 30-day petrol discount at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail stations, with priority for public transport operators, to cushion the impact on consumers.

Finance Minister Taiwo Oyedele said NNPC retail would sell petrol at cost by foregoing its retail profit margin, describing the measure as temporary relief rather than a return to petrol subsidy.

The government has also proposed negotiating a ceiling of N1,350 per litre on petrol’s ex-gantry or landing cost, subject to monthly reviews.

Valdés said fuel subsidies could also worsen global energy pressures by preventing demand from adjusting when supplies were constrained.

“When you subsidise, you don’t allow, at the end of the day, demand to adjust.

“And reality is that we have less fuels in the world economy. That means that someone else has to adjust more, and the market produces a higher price for that,” he said.

The IMF also recommended targeted interventions to cushion the impact of higher fuel prices on transportation costs.

A division chief in the fund’s Fiscal Affairs Department, Davide Furceri, suggested that governments could redirect resources from blanket subsidies towards support for public transport users and other vulnerable groups.

He also suggested measures such as school feeding programmes, geographical targeting and assistance for vulnerable farmers.

Furceri acknowledged that some countries lacked household registries and digital payment systems needed to deliver targeted assistance effectively, but said governments could adopt alternative approaches while developing stronger systems.

He recommended that support should be limited, targeted and temporary.

Source: punchng.com

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The Coffee Farmers Alliance Association of Africa has warned that up to 40 per cent of African smallholder cocoa farmers could be excluded from the European market because they cannot meet compliance requirements under the European Union Deforestation Regulation.

The Global President of COCEFAAA, Adeola Adegoke, raised the concern at the conclusion of the two-day Africa Cocoa and Coffee Conference held in Lagos, where stakeholders called for stronger African participation in shaping international trade policies affecting the continent’s cocoa and coffee industries.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Adegoke expressed concern that the regulation could impose significant challenges on smallholder farmers, particularly those who lack the financial resources, technology and documentation systems required to meet its traceability standards.

He said, “Up to 40 per cent of African smallholder farmers could face exclusion from the European market if they are unable to comply with the requirements.

“The EUDR is designed to ensure that certain commodities entering the European Union market are not linked to deforestation. However, concerns have emerged over the cost and complexity of compliance, particularly for small-scale farmers who may struggle to provide the necessary information to demonstrate compliance,” he added.

Adegoke stressed the need for African cocoa-producing countries to strengthen their negotiating positions and improve traceability systems to protect farmers from potential disruptions to international trade.

He called for measures to ensure that smallholder farmers receive adequate technical and financial support to meet evolving market requirements without losing access to key export destinations.

Another major issue discussed at the conference was the emergence of cell-cultured cocoa technologies and their potential implications for traditional cocoa-producing communities.

Adegoke expressed concern that increased investment in alternative cocoa production technologies could affect demand for conventionally grown cocoa and create additional uncertainty for farmers whose livelihoods depend on the crop.

He urged African countries to assess the potential economic and social implications of these technologies while developing strategies to safeguard the interests of cocoa farmers and their communities.

The conference also highlighted the need for stronger cooperation among African cocoa- and coffee-producing countries to ensure that the continent has a greater voice in shaping international trade policies and standards.

Participants adopted the Lagos Declaration 2026, a shared statement of commitments aimed at improving farmers’ livelihoods, boosting productivity and expanding African ownership of the cocoa and coffee industries.

More than 200 delegates attended the conference, representing producing countries, governments, research institutions, development partners, commodity associations, private businesses, multilateral organisations and the media.

Speaking on the challenges facing the continent’s cocoa and coffee sectors, Adegoke said Africa had the expertise and solutions needed to transform the industries but lacked effective mechanisms to scale them across the continent.

“Africa is not short of solutions. We are short of mechanisms to scale them,” he said.

The Lagos Pact outlines three key positions that African cocoa- and coffee-producing countries intend to advance at continental and international negotiations.

These include reserving the terms “cocoa” and “coffee” for farmed products, advocating mandatory “Cell-Cultured Product” labelling at the Codex Alimentarius, and proposing a one per cent adaptation levy on revenues from cell-cultured products to support African smallholder farmers through the Common Fund for Commodities.

The pact is expected to serve as Africa’s common position at the African Union Summit scheduled for February 2027.

The conference further highlighted Africa’s limited share of the value generated by its cocoa and coffee production, despite the continent’s significant contribution to global output.

According to figures presented by Adegoke, Africa produces about 75 per cent of the world’s cocoa and 12 per cent of its coffee but captures less than six per cent of the value of chocolate, while many farmers earn approximately $1.20 a day.

The Lagos Declaration 2026 commits participants to coordinated action in eight key areas: planning and coordination; unity and governance; farmers’ welfare; productivity; sustainability; traceability and product identity; value addition and finance; and people’s welfare.

Under the declaration, participants pledged to develop African strategic plans with clear responsibilities, timelines, and measurable outcomes. They also committed to strengthening farmers’ cooperatives, improving farmers’ incomes, investing in research and extension services, protecting forests and promoting climate resilience.

The declaration further calls for greater investment in local processing, stronger African brands and expanded access to markets under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The commitments are intended to strengthen Africa’s position in global cocoa and coffee value chains, protect farmers’ livelihoods and ensure that a greater share of the value generated by these commodities remains on the continent.

Source: punchng.com

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