ABUJA – Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua will seek emergency powers to combat sabotage of energy installations and remedy a severe shortage of electricity, he said on Sunday.
Nigeria, an OPEC member, is the world’s eighth-biggest exporter of crude but its output has been cut by attacks on pipelines. Electricity production is so low that most Nigerians live in perpetual blackout.Yar’Adua came to office on May 29 pledging to declare an emergency in the power sector but he has yet to do so.In an interview with Reuters and two Nigerian newspaper editors, Yar’Adua said the emergency would mean he would seek special powers to “deal much more severely than is normal” with criminals who damage pipelines or electricity lines.”We may require …sufficient appropriation beyond what is normal from the National Assembly, waiving some of the limitations to ensure we get sufficient funding for the sector,” he said during the interview, broadcast on state television.He said he request these special powers from the National Assembly once a detailed road map had been worked out, but gave no timeline.The old National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), derided by most Nigerians as “Never Expect Power Always”, was split into 19 pieces under the last administration as a prelude to a privatisation that never took place.The new Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was quickly nicknamed “Problem Has Changed Name”.NIGER DELTA Nigeria’s crude output has been cut by at least a fifth since February 2006, when armed rebels protesting against poverty in the oil-producing Niger Delta started blowing up pipelines and production facilities and kidnapping oil workers.Yar’Adua said he had a two-pronged strategy to stem the violence, which has contributed to spikes in world oil prices.One element is a 15-year economic development plan to address the grievances of the delta’s impoverished communities, while the other aspect is negotiations with the rebels.He said his team had held several meetings with militant leaders and they had agreed a road map towards a peaceful resolution.A joint communique would be issued within two weeks.”And for the development master plan, one of the things we are prepared to do is really to put in sufficient resources to make a difference so that the first phase of five years, when it is implemented, will make a tremendous difference,” he said.Another plank of Yar’Adua’s reform agenda, announced on Wednesday, is breaking up the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) into an oil company, a fuel distribution arm and an asset holding company.”(NNPC) cannot be a commercial company and yet regulate themselves,” Yar’Adua said on Sunday.Oil industry insiders say NNPC is an opaque organisation with excessive powers over both the upstream and the downstream energy sector.US prosecutors alleged in charges filed in July that NNPC officials had taken bribes from American oil executives trying to secure a gas pipeline contract.”(NNPC) has commercial functions, inspectorate functions, asset management functions, all in one piece, and that has prevented its development as an oil company,” Yar’Adua said.He cited Brazil’s Petrobras as a model of what the new oil company should become.He said it should be able to compete internationally for oil exploration acreage.Nampa-ReutersElectricity production is so low that most Nigerians live in perpetual blackout.Yar’Adua came to office on May 29 pledging to declare an emergency in the power sector but he has yet to do so.In an interview with Reuters and two Nigerian newspaper editors, Yar’Adua said the emergency would mean he would seek special powers to “deal much more severely than is normal” with criminals who damage pipelines or electricity lines.”We may require …sufficient appropriation beyond what is normal from the National Assembly, waiving some of the limitations to ensure we get sufficient funding for the sector,” he said during the interview, broadcast on state television.He said he request these special powers from the National Assembly once a detailed road map had been worked out, but gave no timeline.The old National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), derided by most Nigerians as “Never Expect Power Always”, was split into 19 pieces under the last administration as a prelude to a privatisation that never took place.The new Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) was quickly nicknamed “Problem Has Changed Name”.NIGER DELTA Nigeria’s crude output has been cut by at least a fifth since February 2006, when armed rebels protesting against poverty in the oil-producing Niger Delta started blowing up pipelines and production facilities and kidnapping oil workers.Yar’Adua said he had a two-pronged strategy to stem the violence, which has contributed to spikes in world oil prices.One element is a 15-year economic development plan to address the grievances of the delta’s impoverished communities, while the other aspect is negotiations with the rebels.He said his team had held several meetings with militant leaders and they had agreed a road map towards a peaceful resolution.A joint communique would be issued within two weeks.”And for the development master plan, one of the things we are prepared to do is really to put in sufficient resources to make a difference so that the first phase of five years, when it is implemented, will make a tremendous difference,” he said.Another plank of Yar’Adua’s reform agenda, announced on Wednesday, is breaking up the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) into an oil company, a fuel distribution arm and an asset holding company.”(NNPC) cannot be a commercial company and yet regulate themselves,” Yar’Adua said on Sunday.Oil industry insiders say NNPC is an opaque organisation with excessive powers over both the upstream and the downstream energy sector.US prosecutors alleged in charges filed in July that NNPC officials had taken bribes from American oil executives trying to secure a gas pipeline contract.”(NNPC) has commercial functions, inspectorate functions, asset management functions, all in one piece, and that has prevented its development as an oil company,” Yar’Adua said.He cited Brazil’s Petrobras as a model of what the new oil company should become.He said it should be able to compete internationally for oil exploration acreage.Nampa-Reuters
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