2026-01-01 07:40:00
In a statement reported by GazetteNGR, the ICRC director-general urged Nigerians to enter 2026 with renewed hope, stressing infrastructure delivery and PPP momentum.
The message points to government approvals and structuring work around private-sector-led solutions as evidence of steps to reduce Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit.
In practice, the real question is whether projects become bankable and deliverable—where contract design, risk allocation and enforcement decide outcomes.
Punch quoted the ICRC chief pointing to FEC approvals that provide “reassurance” about closing the gap via private-sector-led solutions.
Trust Radio also reported he urged citizens to remain “hopeful and confident” that progress is steady.
Echotitbits take:
PPPs can transform delivery—or become rent channels. Watch for transparent procurement, clear user-fee/tariff logic, and credible dispute resolution to keep projects moving and socially acceptable.
Source: GazetteNGR — January 1, 2026 (https://gazettengr.com/icrc-boss-urges-nigerians-to-embrace-hope-shared-responsibility-in-2026/)
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday approved N1.6billion for the establishment of the e-Government Procurement Platform to address corrupt practices in the government’s procurement system.
The Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Mamman Ahmadu, said the new platform would help eliminate corruption as well as enhance the country’s procurement process.
President Buhari presides over Federal Executive Council (FEC) Meeting in State House on 14th Oct 2020. Photo: Femi Adesina
He said: “Today, BPP presented a memo on e-government procurement. E-government procurement has the potential of improving the procurement process, eliminate corruption, and reduce the leak time in the procurement process itself.
“There have been a lot of complaints about the long time it takes to go through the due process. With the establishment of this, we will reduce that time.
“It also removes subjectivity from the process. There have been lots of complaints about subjectivity in the approval process that will be dealt with squarely when it is eventually launched,” he said.
According to him, the step taken by the government is in line with the current global trend.
“E-government procurement is a global trend and from the research carried out by the World Bank, it had been established that countries that have taken off with e-government procurement have witnessed exponential economic growth and they have stimulated ICT in those countries.
“It will reduce corruption to the barest minimum because it will reduce the human interface within the process. The overall cost is about N1.6 billion,” he said.
The Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, who also addressed the correspondents on the outcome of the meeting, said the Council approved Nigeria’s contribution of two million dollars for the West African Power Pool (WAPP)
He expressed the hope that the contribution would in turn generate income for Nigeria, to cushion the dwindling oil revenue.
According to him, the power pool being a common entity of countries in West Africa, plays a role of coordination and synergy among countries, as well as boosting electricity supply in the region.
Mamman also said the regional power pools would be of great assistance in case the national grid of any of the member states fails.
“The pool is about having synergy within the West African region. The decision has been taken by ECOWAS, it’s for the generation of electricity in the region, so as to have a more constant and steady power supply.
“It’s like the national grid in Nigeria, so we are going to have a regional grid. It means in case there is a failure in one country, another can supplement it. The $2 million is a contribution,” he said.
Also shedding more light on the electricity pool, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed said all ECOWAS countries had been contributing annually to the cost of transmission of electricity in the region, since the establishment of WAPP in 1999.
He said: “The West African power pool is made up of all west African countries because each member state contributes annually to the cost of power transmission across the pool. Because the consequence is that if there is a problem in one country it could inadvertently affect the other country.
“It’s a common pool and every country has its own section and our contribution for this year is $2 million.
“It’s not as if we are giving two million dollars to ECOWAS, we are simply paying our own contribution to the transmission from Nigeria to other West African countries and viz-visa”, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported.
The Aussies, known for their love of beer or the Amber Nectar, as they like to call it, are an interesting people. If you think you’re a big beer drinker, then try challenging an Australian to a drinking contest. I can assure you, he’lI drink you under the table, any day. Aussies literally drink like fish.
There was a great advert in the United Kingdom for Castlemaine 4X which parodied this, several decades ago. In preparation for a barbecue (another thing Aussies are known for) party, two men were seen leaning on a truck in the outback (desert like area of Australia) and patiently watching while the drinks for the party were being loaded up. What were they being loaded unto? A trailer. What were the variety of drinks? No variety, only Castlemaine 4X.
Only after totally overloading the trailer with Castlemaine 4X beer to the point where one could clearly hear the trailer creaking under the sheer weight of it, did they remember that they hadn’t packed any drinks for the women. Very casually, with folded arms and a can of Castlemaine 4X he was already drinking in hand, one of the two men said to the other who was doing exactly the same, “I guess we better add a couple of bottles of wine for the Sheilas (ladies)?” His friend agreed and promptly, two bottles of wine were plonked on top of the hundreds of crates of beer. The two men were shown looking satisfied that they had done a good job and then the camera quickly shot back to the trailer as we heard the creaking increase and before we knew it the trailer came crashing down. Without the slightest hint of any panic but with undisguised regret, one of the two men said to the other, “I guess we over did it for the Sheilas”, to which his friend in equal regret just uttered, “yeah”.
The men in the advert above who felt, “Na we dey there” packed the trailer to overload with beer, pampering to their selfish whims and giving little to no thought to the interest of others. Their greed, powerlessness to rein in their voracious appetite when opportunity came knocking to satisfy it and total misuse of position and chance to meet the needs of all, eventually caused the trailer to collapse, so it could not even move anywhere. In the end it didn’t serve anyone’s interest as the drinks were needed at their party.
Forecourt of the State House/Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Nigerian Government seat of power.
But the saddest part about the whole scenario was this; they didn’t ascribe the trailer’s collapse to their greed at all. They blamed it on the two bottles of wine they patted themselves on the back for so thoughtfully including for the women.
Likewise, the problem with Nigeria from the perspective of our political leaders is not current poor leadership but the people who are in too much of a hurry to enjoy a good life. The same good life the majority have been denied all their lives, frustratingly in the midst of plenty. Our leaders will brag in the media about accomplishments which the ordinary man can barely see or feel and explain it away with the usual mantra that government resources are limited, therefore people should understand.
As far as they’re concerned, the lack of good hospitals, good roads, good educational system and the most dismal looking future for coming generations of Nigerians actually has little to do with their current performance and only to do with the corruption and profligacy of past leaders. Like the two Aussie men, they calmly try to explain away something which is so painfully obvious.
We urgently need to do something about the average Nigerian’s “do you know me?” attitude. “Don’t try me, I’m a mad man. My head no dey correct o” mentality. It beats me, why anyone would boast of not being normal in the head. I just can’t understand why people brag about something which should ordinarily be a source of concern to any normal person.
Both the “big men” and “small men” in the streets boast of their “power” and threaten to show their antagonists who they are. It’s just unfortunate that neither the big nor the small oppressor has yet realized that they’re both in the same category – they’re both small minded people – who only feel big by demeaning others. All such are nothing but “small men” no matter their position or financial wherewithal.
I don’t see how such oppressors are any different to wife beaters. Included in this category of wife beaters are the few bad eggs amongst our uniformed men, whose presence ought to be a source of comfort to the citizenry but decide instead to use it to physically or psychologically brutalize those unable to fight back. In the same category are people in positions of authority who instead of using their position to provide an enabling environment and make things happen opt instead to plant endless bureaucratic bottlenecks and strangulate all effort to catalyze industry, just because they can. I ask you, how different to wife beaters are those who boast of past appointments held, not to remind us of how well they transformed the lives of ordinary Nigerians while they were there but to now brandish such credentials as a licence to intimidate and belittle those they supposedly went there to serve? All the above are “little men” but if only they knew. Nigerians are still reeling from one such case but I doff my hat to the individual in question for offering an unreserved apology to the victim and Nigerians in general; a rarity in these climes, I must say.
Sadly, like the case of the two Aussies who were presented with a golden opportunity to meet the needs of all but were blinded by an unrestrained desire to satisfy themselves only, the ship called Nigeria is stuck and currently appears to be moving no where. Power, just for the sake of it is far from a blessing, it’s an albatross.
Changing the nation…one mind at a time
Oladapo Akande is a Surrey University (UK) English graduate with a Masters in Professional Ethics. He’s an alumnus of the National Institute for Transformation and a two time author; The Last Flight and Shifting Anchors. He writes from Lagos.
The real reasons President Muhammadu Buhari approved the sack of Usman Gur Mohammed as the Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, through the Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, have been uncovered.
Mohammed, according to various sources at the TCN office, was removed because of his alleged high-handedness and his inglorious role in the termination of the appointment of a labour leader, Chris Okonkwo, who was TCN General Manager, Special Duties.
It would be recalled that Okonkwo was sacked on April 24, 2020 and this generated negative reactions from the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC), saying the labour leader was sacked by Mohammed without due process.
TUC immediately wrote to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, describing the sack of Okonkwo who is also the incumbent SSAEAC President General as an exercise in futility because it’s only the Minister of Power that could exercise such authority in the extant laws.
“The crisis in Transmission Company of Nigeria has been severally reported to your office, despite your intervention which is ongoing, the Managing Director of the company has issued a sack letter.
“This is an exercise in futility because it is beyond the power of the Managing Director; only the minister can exercise such power in the extant laws.
“It is also an attempt to dare labour and an embarrassment to labour community for sacking a sitting president when a matter is already before an arbiter and has not been concluded.
“This is a declaration of war and we are prepared for him; as law abiding citizens, we have brought the matter for urgent intervention,” TUC wrote in a letter of protest to Ngige.
The festering development led to the presidential approval for the dismissal of Mohammed on Tuesday.
Mamman, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Aaron Artimas, titled: “Reorganisation/New Appointments at the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN” announced Mohammed’s sack and appointed Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz as TCN Managing Director in acting capacity.
“As part of continuing measures to reposition and improve the performance of the power sector in the country, the Honourable Minister of Power Engr. Sale Mamman, hereby announces major changes at the Transmission Company of Nigeria.
“Accordingly, the Managing Director of the TCN, Usman Gur Mohammed, has been removed from office with immediate effect. He is being replaced with Engr. Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, as Managing Director, in acting capacity.
“The Honorable Minister has also confirmed the appointment of four directors who have been on acting position in the company for some time.
“They are; Engr. Victor G. Adewumi, Executive Director, Transmission Services Provider; Engr. M. J. Lawal, Executive Director, Independent Systems Operator; Ahmed Isa-Dutse, Executive Director, Finance and Accounts and Justin I. Dodo, Executive Director, Human Resources and Corporate Services.
“All the changes/appointments have been approved by President Muhammadu Buhari,” the statement said.
A training and development organization, Purpose Power and Lifestyle Design (PPLD) International is set to train young graduates through its Prep for Success (PFS) programme.
According to the Chief Inspiration Officer of the organization, Tunde Makun, the PFS will hold for two days, Thursday 24th and Friday 25th.
The Prep for Success programme, which is in its 13th edition, is the company’s initiative to breeding a new crop of business and thought leaders who will drive the emerging African continental growth.
Makun said: “Our young graduate population continues to grow rapidly in the job market. And while that’s going on, confusion and disenchantment deepen. For the few who are lucky to be invited for interview, most employers aren’t pleased with the quality of the interview candidates. Clearly, we have a duty to not only provide for them, but also to guide them.
“That’s why we created the hugely experiential graduate Prep for Success
PFS training program to help Young Graduates lay an amazing foundation for a fast-track into the future; securing and growing in a choice career or business”, Makun noted.
Some of the facilitators and sponsors that will attend the training are Mrs Gbemisola Adetola, a Public Relations Consultant; Mrs Adebola Fashaun, a retired Judicial Officer and Mrs Bioye Animashaun, a Legal Practitioner.
Makun added that, “The truly transformational 2-day PFS program is the code you need to navigate the future with confidence. Now in its 13th class, the testimonials from this program have been phenomenal.
Tunde Makun, a successful entrepreneur in the oil and Gas marketing industry also expressed regret that the country is not thinking much about the young ones. He noted that in 2019, PPLD will do a lot to deepen its connection with the youth especially, helping them to navigate through tortuous environment to attaining successful careers.
He said: “Our connection with the youth this year is very ambitious. We are looking at reaching to as much as a 1 million youth. The idea is to make sure that there are some key deliverables. Leadership is one of them, and helping them to redefine how to live in a community.
“We want to train the youth to lead themselves in a community where they live according to rules of engagement that works for communal living rather than individual living”, Makun said.
Notable past facilitators and mentors at PPD training programmes include Prof. Pat Utomi, Dr. Doyin Abiola, Mr Leo Stan Ekeh, Dr. Christopher Kolade and many others.
The internationally certified coach said he is collaborating with partners in the United States of America, who would become mentors and share resources to help PPLD achieve its goal of catapulting young graduates to success in Nigeria.
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