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Barrister Paul Edeh Donates Another 500KVA Transformer To Hausa Community In Otukpo.

Published

6 years ago

December 26, 2020

The Hausa Community in Otukpo, Benue State on Christmas day, heaved a sigh of relief as Philanthropist and President of Naija Ratels Football Club, Barrister Paul Edeh donated a 500KVA transformer sub-station worth over N7m to boost electricity supply to the area, which has been without power for more than than 11 months.

The event which was held in Otukpo, had in attendance, the Senator representing the good people of Benue South Senatorial district and former Minister of Interior, Senator Abba Moro and some other great son’s and daughters of the Idoma Nation.

Speaking after handing over the transformer sub-station to the Christian and Muslim Community of Otukpo, the Legal luminary noted that it was necessary for him to donate the sub-station after he learnt that the community have been without power for close to a year.

The United Nations Peace Ambassador said the new transformer would boost power supply, address the challenges of electricity supply faced by the people and also promote economic activities in the community which was hitherto before then grounded due to the power outage.

“You will recall that today is exactly 166 days since I donated the first transformer to Zone HB Community and a generator set to the Divisional Police Headquarter in Otukpo , which was of course motivated by the fact that they have not had light for a long time. Sadly, i also understand that this same community I donated transformer to, today have not also had light for close to a year with all economic activities grounded.

“When I got that information, almost three months ago, I was hoping and waiting that the authority concerned (Jos Electricity Distribution Company) will do the needful but they didn’t. So in on of those days in my hotel room in Uyo, I felt the need to reach out to the community and I made that call around 12 midnight and truly realised they have been in darkness for almost a year and hence, I took the onus to assist them by providing a brand new 500kva transformer.

“Indeed what I did was to build a new substation from the scratch to finish which was done within two weeks and today while celebrating Christmas with the same community, we decided to commision it and it was done by no other person, but Senator Abba Moro.

“Truly, the Muslim community are the biggest beneficiary of this donation and they were very elated and happy about the development. Infact the Transformer is located beside the St Mary Catholic Church which is adjacent the Central mosque. So I am happy that the Muslim and Christian community benefited from this project.

“The truth is that I have never been a politician and not all of us must get into politics to make impacts in our community. What is important is having the right mindset and heart to give back to the society, which is what I am doing. Am glad that for the first time in almost a year, these people will enjoy uninterrupted power supply and that is exactly what pleases my heart as a person.” He concluded.

Commissioning the transformer sub-station earlier, the Senator representing Benue South Senatorial District Distinguished Senator Abba Moro commended Barr Paul Edeh for his efforts at complimenting the efforts of the Government by providing another transformer sub-station within a space or 6 months.

He noted that rather than sit in the comfort of his office like many critics who prefer to criticise government for lack of provision of basic amenities, he rather chose to assist his community.

“For the second time within this year I am coming to commission a transformer provided by a son of Idoma land Barrister Paul. Each time Paul tells me I should commission a project, I have never asked him what is actually your motivation. Because when I begin to listen to the story of Paul, it is a story of somebody who denies himself happiness to make the other person happy.

“He is a person who tirelessly works so hard with a hard face to put a smile on the faces of other people. Paul has been a typical example of what I tell people that you don’t have to be in government to help the other person.” Senator Abba Moro stated

The Chairman of the Muslim Youth in the community, Alhaji Aliyu Yinusa thanked Barrister Paul Edeh for coming to their rescue and commended him for keeping the faith with the Muslim and Hausa Community.

“We can’t thank Barrister Paul Edeh enough, he has done something that pleases the heart of everyone in this community. We have been without power for almost a year now, and God sent Barrister Paul Edeh to help us out from this difficult situation.

“We shall jealously guard the equipment because we don’t want to go back to the days of darkness. He concluded.

Senator Abba Moro commissioned the project and performed the ceremonial switching on of the light which signaled the availability of electricity supply to the community after almost a year with the community going wild with jubilation.

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Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold

Published

3 hours ago

October 28, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.

The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.

Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.

According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.

“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.

“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”

The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.

Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.

“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.

Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.

Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.

He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.

Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.

He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.

To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.

In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization

Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.

Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.

“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.

In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee

is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.

The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

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