The WEB GIST

President Uhuru Kenyatta will take action against Sports Minister Hassan Wario and Principal Secretary Titus Ekai over Rio Olympics Games once investigations are complete.

The President said on Sunday that the government will make a decision when investigating agencies complete their investigations over Sh200 million loss related to the Rio Games in August last year.

The President also alluded to the fact that he is ready to give power if he loses the August elections.

“I will respect the will of the people whatever they decide,” said President Kenyatta.

Speaking to the media at Sagana State Lodge Nyeri on Sunday, the President said he ‘will allow due process to take place in the case’ as investigations continue.

“Investigating agencies are doing their part. We must allow due process to take place before taking action,” said the Head of State.

Mr Wario and Mr Ekai are staring at leaving the government office on accusations of abuse of office leading to loss of public funds.

The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Keriako Tobiko has already recommended that they be charged alongside Director of Administration in the ministry, Haron Komen Chebet, after a preliminary report.

Mr Tobiko said the three should bear the greatest criminal culpability for authourising unlawful payments.

MOBILE REGISTRATION

During the press briefing, the Head of State called on Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to start mobile voter registration in semi-arid and pastoralist areas in the country.

His sentiments come as IEBC tussles to register six million new voters in the ongoing mass registration of voters by February 14.

The President also urged youth to enlist with the polls agency and appreciate importance of participating in elections.

He further ordered chiefs to get uncollected national identity cards and disburse them to their owners.

“The National Registration Bureau has expedited process of issuing IDs. Chiefs are government workers and must take the IDs to the actual applicants. They know everybody in the village,” said Mr Kenyatta.

ASSESSING DROUGHT

The President has been crisscrossing his Central region stronghold in a voter registration drive, boasting that his efforts are bearing fruits.

He added that the government through Ministries of Devolution, Agriculture and Treasury is assessing the drought situation in the country.

He said a committee headed by Principal Secretary Richard Lesiyampe has been formed and is engaging members of national assembly because of budget issue.

By Friday new measures will be announced, said the President.

He further asked devolved Governments to review their county budgets and intervene in alleviating the starvation facing millions of Kenyans mostly in Coast, Eastern, North Eastern and parts of Central and Rift Valley.

The Head of State also said he expects new US President Donald Trump to continue strengthening African countries on security and development matters.
Mr Kenyatta who has been advocating for Africa-for-Africa relations, said he is waiting to see Mr Trump’s policy direction on Africa.
“We hope there will be continuation of good ties with the United States. Let us wait and see as the administration takes direction,” said the President.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said that the nation’s power generation capacity dropped from 3,959 megawatts on Jan. 4 to 2,662 megawatts on Jan. 22. The Nigerian Electricity System Operator (SO) website, a sub agency of TCN, disclosed the figure in its daily forecast on power generation data in Lagos on Sunday. TCN attributed the drop to low water levels at the hydro power stations and dearth of gas to the power generating companies. TCN said the total output of 2,662.20 megawatts from all the generation companies on Sunday had been transferred to the 11 distribution companies across the country. According to the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) operational report for Jan. 4, the power sector hit a peak generation of 4,959 megawatts but dropped to 2,662.20 megawatts on Jan. 22. NESI said the sector recorded highest system frequency of 51.32Hz and lowest system frequency of 48.52 Hz, while the highest and the lowest voltage recorded on Sunday were 372KV and 300KV, respectively. An official of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), who preferred anonymity, Said that electricity generation had been dwindling due to challenge of accessing gas by generation companies. The official said that low level water levels at the country’s hydro thermal stations also contributed to the drop in generation. He said that most hydro stations are currently confronted with low water challenges to generate energy. The TCN official said that this often caused system collapse when the system scrabbled to distribute energy from the grid to distribution companies and the quantum of energy was not sufficient. According to him, it is a challenging period for power sector but it will get better once the hydro swing into high water level and gas becomes available. He attributed the drop in generation to the attack launched against pipeline facilities belonging to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) on Jan. 17 around Ugheli in Delta State. Similarly, a top official of Egbin Power Station, who also pleaded anonymity, said that the power plant, with a capacity of 1,320 megawatts, now generates 340 megawatts due to gas constraint. The official said that the 340 megawatts Egbin generated was wheeled out to the national grid at 6.00 am on Sunday. The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, had on Friday said that the sabotage of power assets by militants prevented Nigeria from generating 7,000 MW of electricity. “Today, at its most frugal, the nation’s power grid would support 6,500MW; pushed to its limit, it would carry 7,200MW. “So it is not true when you hear that the grid capacity is not more than 5,000MW. It is growing every day and more projects are coming up. “We have completed some and more are still coming up. So that is where we are,’’ Fashola said at the Nextier Power Dialogue in Abuja on Friday. The Minister said while power was out due to attacks in one axis, the expansion of either the grid or gas supply was kept alive on another axis and hydro power was also being expanded.

Osogbo -  Students of the Osun State University, Osogbo, on Saturday protested the shooting of two of their colleagues by some policemen.

The protesting students lit bon fires on major streets  and impeded human and vehicular  traffic within Osogbo metropolis.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports  that the shot  students, Kazeem Adesola and Ibrahim Ajao, were  playing football on a pitch at  Oke-Baale area of the metropolis when the incident occurred.

NAN learnt that  the policemen,  who came in plain clothes, had  accused some students on the pitch of being  involved  in internet fraud.

An  eyewitness, who craved anonymity, accused  the police of  persistently extorting money from students.

The eye witness, a student of the institution,  said the resistance by those on the pitch  led to Saturday’s shooting incident.

“We were playing football when the policemen  came. They always come like that to arrest students.

“ They would say that we are involved in Yahoo-Yahoo(internet fraud)  and they would seize our laptops and phones.

“They would collect money on the pretext of  granting us bail. But we resisted them on this occasion  and within a twinkle of an eye, the policemen started shooting.

“When the policemen started shooting, we ran away but the bullets  hit two students who were immediately rushed to hospital.

“ The bullet hit one in the stomach and the second one in his mouth,’’ he said.

The Commissioner of  Police in the state, Mr Fimihan Adeoye, while visiting the victims at the Ladoke Akintola Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, confirmed the development.

He said  that the policemen involved had been arrested and detained, assuring  the victims that  they would face the full wrath of the law.

The commissioner also said he had  ordered  full scale investigation into the matter.

He, however, advised  the students of the institution not to take the law  into their hands, saying  the essence of the  investigation was to establish  that such an act was committed and to determine those involved.

“The two students injured in the incident are being attended to now at the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo,  and that’s why I am here to ensure that the victims are well treated,’’ he said.

The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Labode Popoola, who was also at the hospital, said the students were exposed to danger because the  institution  is non-residential.

He said  efforts were being made to build hostels and ensure that students live within the campus where they could be properly monitored and supervised (NAN)