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Wike gifts vehicles to FCT chiefs

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The minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Friday. presented 10 vehicles to third-class chiefs in the federal capital and promised improved welfare for traditional leaders.

The chiefs were from Gomani, Yaba, Bwari, Pai, Garki, Jiwa, Wako, Rubochi, Gwargwada and Zuba chiefdoms.

Mr Wike explained, while handing over the Nissan Semi SUV keys to the traditional rulers in Abuja, that the gesture was part of government efforts to ease the mobility of the traditional leaders.

He said that the government has a responsibility to encourage traditional leaders by providing them with all the necessary logistics to enable them to do their work diligently and with ease.

“Part of that is mobility. I can’t see how traditional rulers will be boarding taxis or entering public transport. That is unacceptable.

“President Bola Tinubu has directed that that should not be allowed to continue. He has asked that we must do everything possible to make it convenient and easy for you to do your assignment,” he said.

He said that in line with the renewed agenda of Mr Tinubu, every stakeholder has a role to play, including traditional rulers, particularly in the area of security.

“You know your communities better than anybody; you know the people within their communities, so you will be able to identify those who look like strangers.

“No agency will perform its function without the support of traditional rulers, and we believe that we must partner together to achieve the fight against insecurity.

“So, today we are going to hand over 10 vehicles to you to please help in supporting the government to fight insecurity in your domain. Be sure that we are going to work together.

“If we don’t work together, we will not achieve results, because everybody is important in the fight against insecurity,” Mr Wike said.

The minister also disclosed that Tinubu has directed the FCTA to make traditional rulers very comfortable by augmenting the little allowances the Area Councils were providing them.

He said: “We will soon meet with the Area Councils’ chairmen and the traditional rulers so that we can work out strategies for the welfare package and what role you will play to assist the government to achieve its renewed agenda.

“The new agender is that things must work.

“The Mandate Secretaries have been appointed and sworn in. I don’t want to hear any excuses from any department.

“We are not here to give excuses; we know there are challenges before we came here. It is our duty to solve these challenges,” Mr Wike said.

Responding, the chairman, FCT council of traditional rulers, the Ona of Abaji, Adamu Yunusa, thanked the minister for the support and pledged the support of traditional rulers to move FCT forward.

Supreme Court throws out Nnaji’s court challenge

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Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the election of Governor in Enugu State.

The apex court delivered the verdict in an appeal filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, Uche Nnaji.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Mbah as the winner of the March 18 governorship election after he polled 160,895 votes to defeat the Labour Party candidate, Chijioke Edeoga and 16 other candidates in the exercise.

Edeoga finished in second position with 157,552 votes while Frank Nweke of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) scored 17, 983 votes to place third.

Nnaji got 14,575 votes in the poll.

The APC candidate, however, challenged the governor’s election on two grounds.

He alleged that Mbah presented a forged National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate to INEC before the election.

Nnaji also told the governorship election petitions tribunal that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate did not score the majority of valid votes in the election.

In a ruling delivered on June 20, the tribunal dismissed the petition on the grounds that it was not filed in compliance with the Electoral Act.

The appeal court also dismissed the case for the same reason.

Dissatisfied with the judgement, Nnaji approached the Supreme Court to set aside the rulings.

In its judgement, a five-member panel of the apex court described the APC candidate’s appeal as an “invalid brief of argument.”

The panel consequently dismissed the case for being incompetent.

Tribunal affirms Neda Imasuen’s electon

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The National and State Houses of Assembly Elections Petitions Tribunal has affirmed Neda Imasuen’s (Labour Party-Edo) election for the Edo South senatorial seat.

The candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Matthew Iduoriyekemwen and his party, had, through petition number EPT/ED/SEN/03/2023, approached the tribunal to challenge Imasuen’s victory in the Feb. 25 election.

The petitioners had approached the tribunal seeking the nullification of Imasuen’s victory on four grounds, including alleged non-qualification, over-voting, corrupt practice, non-compliance with the Electoral Act by the Independent National Electoral Commission, and the nomination of the first respondent by the Labour Party.

However, the three-member panel led by Justice Yusuf Mohammed dismissed the petition for lacking in merit and being incompetent. Mr Mohammed, who read the three-hour judgment, said the petitioners failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Imasuen was not qualified to participate in the election.

The tribunal held that the allegations of non-qualification, party nomination or sponsorship for an election were pre-election matters that could only be entertained by a federal high court.

He added that Mr Iduoriyekemwen and his party also failed to prove that the senator did not score the majority of valid votes in the election.

The tribunal held that the petitioners were unable to prove the case of alleged non-compliance with the Electoral Act and irregularities during the election.

Reacting, Mr Imasuen dedicated the victory to the people of Edo and lauded the tribunal for its courageous interpretation of the law and standing for justice.

The tribunal struck out the petition filed by Valentine Asuen of the APC in Edo South.

Ghana raises cocoa farmgate price as supply drops

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Ghana raised the state guaranteed cocoa price paid to its farmers by more than 63% last week in a bid to boost their income and prevent beans being smuggled to neighbouring countries where they fetch more money as supplies tighten.

President Nana Akufo-Addo said farmers would receive 20,943 Ghana cedi ($1,837) per tonne for the new 2023/2024 season, which starts in September, compared with 12,800 Ghana cedi they got in the previous year.

Speaking at the launch ceremony of the new cocoa season in the western Tepa cocoa-growing district, Akufo-Addo said the new price was the highest paid to farmers across West Africa in more than 50 years.

The rise comes as cocoa futures have hit 46-year highs in recent weeks over concerns over tight supplies from the region, where around 70% of chocolate’s main ingredient is sourced.

December London cocoa ​​settled up 73 pounds, or 2.5%, at 3,050 pounds per metric ton on Friday after touching the highest since 1977 at 3,053 pounds ($3,805).

The market has been setting fresh highs since late June, as crop problems including black pod disease in West Africa contribute to a substantial global deficit expected in the current 2022/23 season (October/September).

"With the predicted stable prices… the government will continue to honour our farmers with good prices in the years ahead," Akufo-Addo told a crowd of cheering and dancing farmers.

A weakened cedi currency and a lower farmgate cocoa price in Ghana in the 2022/2023 season, compared with neighbouring Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa grower, saw beans smuggled to there and to Togo.

The smuggling contributed to a lower than expected total output from Ghana, forcing the government to close the season a month earlier than expected and bring forward the start of the new season to September instead of October.

"The difference in price has been closed and it won’t be profitable again to sell cocoa to Ivory Coast and Togo," said Leticia Adu Yankey of Ghana Civil Society Cocoa Platform, an independent advocacy group.

Fiifi Boafo, head of public affairs at regulator COCOBOD regulator told Reuters on Saturday that Ghana is targeting an output of 820,000 metric tons for the 2023/2024 season after the increased farmgate price.

He said Ghana lost around 150,000 metric tons of beans in the current season to smuggling, and artisanal gold mining known as "galamsey", which is destroying cocoa farms.

Boafo added that Ghana is planning to borrow $1.2 billion for its annual cocoa purchases. $800 million will come from a syndicate of banks, with $400 million from other sources.

Cameroon, another top West African cocoa producer, and the world’s fourth biggest, on Thursday raised its farmgate cocoa price by 25% to around 1,500 ($2.45) CFA franc per kg for the 2023/2024 season.

Djibouti unveils first wind farm as it aims to complete shift towards green energy

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President Ismail Omar Guelleh on Sunday, 10th September, will carry out the landmark inauguration of Djibouti’s first-ever wind farm, advancing his stated ambition to make the nation of 1.1 million the first in Africa to rely entirely on renewable sources for electricity by 2035.

The Red Sea Power (RSP) wind farm, near Lake Goubet, will provide 60 megawatts of clean energy, boosting overall capacity by 50% and averting 252,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, equivalent to the pollution from over 55,000 buses. As the first significant international investment in the energy sector in Djibouti, the US$122 million project creates the country’s first Independent Power Producer (IPP) and sets a template for further private investment.

An additional 45MW of renewable energy is already planned by the consortium of investors behind RSP, namely, infrastructure solutions provider Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) as lead developer; the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank FMO; blended finance fund manager Climate Fund Managers (CFM); and Great Horn Investment Holding (GHIH), an investment firm owned by a unit of the Djibouti Ports & Free Zones Authority and Djibouti Sovereign Fund.

Until now, Djibouti has been entirely reliant on power generated from imported fossil fuels, as well as hydrogen generated power imported from neighbouring Ethiopia. Less than half of the 123MW of domestic installed capacity is operational due to outdated diesel plants. Critically for the East African nation, the new clean energy will spur industrialisation, job creation and economic stability as Djibouti seeks to take advantage of its strategic location as a global transshipment hub.

With its extensive coastline and dedicated port facilities positioned strategically along the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Djibouti has a central role to play in the global energy market. The country has enough wind, solar and geothermal resources to triple existing capacity to at least 300MW. It also has one of the world’s highest concentrations of foreign military bases due to its location at the entrance to the Bab el-Mandab strait, the passageway for 30% of global trade. Djibouti’s new wind farm provides an opportunity for these bases and other enterprises currently outside the grid to decarbonize and replace their mostly diesel-generated power with clean energy.

Leveraging its seaports to diversify the economy, Djibouti set out to build an industrial zone in 2017, sparking preliminary discussions on boosting energy capacity. The consortium for the wind farm was formed in 2018 and subsequently provided all-equity construction bridge financing via AFC, FMO, CFM’s Climate Investor One fund, and GHIH, which propelled the project to achieve financial close in a record 22 months. Construction kicked off in January 2020 and continued at pace despite the global supply challenges caused by Covid-era lockdowns.

Today, the wind farm spans 387 hectares, equivalent to over 700 football pitches. The site’s 17 Siemens turbines each produce 3.4 MW, served by a robust 220 megavolt amperes (MVA) substation and connected by a 5km overhead transmission line to the local grid operator and warehousing.

The electricity generated is to be sold under a long-term power purchase agreement to Electricité de Djibouti (EDD), the national state-owned utility. Using the project as a template for future IPPs, the Government of Djibouti is already working on several other plants for additional geothermal and solar capacity.

Our aim is to be the first country in Africa to be 100% reliant on green energy by 2035

The project stands out as a demonstration of the use of innovative equity financing to accelerate development impact through de-risking, while showcasing the commercial viability of transformative projects in Africa, thereby crowding-in diverse capital sources, and enabling replication of similar projects at reduced financing costs.

Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation, said: “We congratulate the President and people of Djibouti along with our Partners on this significant milestone towards advancing energy access in Djibouti through renewable wind energy. The equity bridge construction finance solution that we deployed has mitigated construction and completion risks, clearly demonstrating AFC’s solutions-focused, de-risking and execution capabilities, as well as introducing a pragmatic way to fast track financial close for projects in Africa.”

“Djibouti has abundant renewable resources for sustainable and clean energy production,” said Aboubaker Omar Hadi, Chairman of Great Horn Investment Holding (GHIH). “Our aim is to be the first country in Africa to be 100% reliant on green energy by 2035. Investment in renewable energy infrastructure is the key to enabling our ambitions, and the inauguration of the groundbreaking Red Sea Power wind farm today is a major milestone. A reliable and cost-effective energy solution is vital to drive Djibouti’s infrastructure growth. With the development of Industrial Free Zones projects, we estimate that the country faces a projected demand of 3700 MW in the next decade. Tapping into renewable resources like solar, geothermal, wind and tidal is crucial to bridge this gap.”

“Today’s inauguration marks a leap forward in closing Djibouti’s energy access gap and ensuring energy sovereignty, supporting the country’s long-term social and economic development,” said Michael Jongeneel, CEO of FMO.

In addition to the socio-economic impacts of the project, the innovation in the transaction structure itself has the potential to create systemic impacts by encouraging more investments in the region. The transaction structure substantially reduced the risk associated with the investment. EDD’s payment obligations under the power purchase agreement (PPA) were backed by a government guarantee, and in turn the government’s obligations were also backed by political risk cover provided by the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).

“It is testimony to the power of blended finance,” added Andrew Johnstone, CEO of Climate Fund Managers. “Groundbreaking transactions like this are immensely challenging to fund with traditional project finance as the territory is uncharted and there is no track-record, making it almost impossible for lenders and equity partners to get comfortable with the risk. Blended finance combines both concessional and commercial capital, enabling investors to take a higher share of risk and providing a single source of funding from development to operations. In this case, we believe the project simply would not have been possible without a blended approach.”

Francois Maze, CEO of Red Sea Power, said: “Access to electricity is vital for business growth, job creation, education, healthcare, social services, and infrastructure. In a country currently served entirely by fossil fuels and electricity imports, large-scale renewable energy solutions are urgently needed to mitigate and increase resilience to climate change. Today’s inauguration is an important milestone in Djibouti’s aim to be entirely served by renewable energy sources by 2035. We are proud to be part of that journey and thank all of our partners for their support over the last five years to turn our ambition into a reality.”

In addition to the new wind farm, the Red Sea Power partners have built a solar-powered desalination plant that was also inaugurated today. The plant will provide drinking water to villages near the farm. Some parts of Djibouti are currently experiencing a major national water crisis, with 20% of rural areas lacking access to clean water. Many households have insufficient water to meet basic needs, particularly during the dry season, resulting in widespread loss of livelihoods and income.

The desalination plant extracts water directly from the sea using a pre-treatment process that removes the salt to produce drinking water. It will supply 800 residents of two villages near the farm with access to around 40 litres per day, reducing the risk of water-borne diseases and increasing time in education as children are frequently sent out to collect water. RSP has delivered 80,000 litres of water a week since 2020 as an interim solution while the plant was being constructed. The goal is for the wind farm to power larger desalination plants in the future.

A further component of the project is helping conserve local biodiversity by monitoring migratory and resident birds to assess any changes in the numbers or behaviour, including endangered species such as Egyptian vultures (Neophron Percnopterus). Although Djibouti plays a crucial role as a migration corridor and wind farms typically carry the potential of risk causing bird collisions, the project’s geographical location beneath the northeastern high mountains makes it an ideal site for harnessing wind energy while minimally affecting avian populations.