Minister of Power, Engineer Sale Mamman, disclosed that Nigeria’s installed grid power generation capacity has increased from 8,000mw to 13,000mw under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

This was stated by the Minister during the 2021 budget defence, before the House of Representatives Committee on Power in Abuja, as reported on the Twitter handle of  the Office of the Minister of Power today.

#Thread

Nigeria now generates 13,000mw of power, says Minister.

The Minister of Power, @EngrSMamman has said that the Nigeria’s installed grid power generation capacity has grown from 8,000mw to 13,000mw under the leadership of President @MBuhari pic.twitter.com/4CJhyS6DXs

— Office of the Minister of Power (@PowerMinNigeria) October 29, 2020

However, members of the committee raised concerns about power supply to their various constituencies, urging the minister to ensure adequate supply.

The Minister explained that the distribution system had the capacity to evacuate 5,500mw of power, which is a significant improvement from 4,500mw in 2015, and that better performance should be expected in the near term.

Engr. Aliyu Magaji (APC-Jigawa), the Chairman of the committee, asked the Minister to mete out stiffer sanctions to the Distribution Companies (DisCos), to make them to sit up and provide the desired services to Nigerian people.

Magaji said that if the minister ensured the sanction of the DisCos, he would become the darling of lawmakers and the entire Nigerians.

What they are saying

On the performance of the Ministry since 2015, Engineer Mamman said:

“During the period between 2015 to date, the sector has recorded successes and has faced challenges. In order to deliver this administration’s promise of providing stable and affordable power to Nigerians, a way forward was defined and supported by Mr. President’s political will.”

Desmond Elliot, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, apologised and allegedly broke down in tears on live TV for addressing #EndSARS protesters as “Children.”

The lawmaker disclosed this in a statement he issued via his Twitter handle and on a live TV interview on Thursday.

Elliot explained that he was carried away by his emotions, which was the reason he used such a word to describe the protesters on the floor of the house.

He tweeted, “I have read your honest feedback& suggestions& [sic] I sincerely apologize for addressing the youths as ‘Children.’

“I did not mean to be insensitive with this, it was borne out of the magnitude of destruction&looting [sic] of businesses I witnessed when I went on a tour of my constituency.

“I saw women crying and my constituent members distraught as a result of the damages inflicted on their source of livelihood. I was moved by this while giving my submission on the floor of the House.

“I allowed my emotions get the better of me and for this I apologize to everyone my earlier statements may have hurt.”

1. I have read your honest feedback& suggestions& I sincerely apologize for addressing the youth as “Children”

I did not mean to be insensitive with this, it was borne out of the magnitude of destruction&looting of businesses I witnessed when I went on a tour of my constituency

— Desmond Elliot (@DesmondOElliot) October 29, 2020

What you should know

The lawmaker, who is also a film maker, in his submission at the House on Thursday, allegedly pushed for the passing of a social media regulation bill.

His controversial statement received lots of criticisms, as many Nigerian youths attacked him for referring to youths as “children” and for also pushing for the regulation of social media.

Edlyft, an EdTech startup, has so far raised over $1.4 million in venture funding from a number of investors.

The investors include Kleiner Perkins, Y Combinator, Kapor Capital, Village Global VC, January Ventures, and Backstage Capital. Also, funding came from some respectable entrepreneurs such as Jeff Weiner (former CEO, now Executive Chairman of LinkedIn).

It is practically impossible to run a business without capital, and sometimes, it is difficult to raise funds if the business is not well managed or successful.

Therefore, a balance must be struck; just as businesses strive to raise more funds for different purposes such as expansion, they must also strive to remain profitable.

Commenting on the latest development, one of the co-founders of the group, Erika Hairston told Forbes:

“We started our post-demo-day fundraise in the final weeks of Y Combinator’s winter 2020 batch. Given that Black women receive only 0.06% of venture funding, I had a determined mindset; yet no one could’ve predicted the challenges of rising at the peak of uncertainty across the globe.

“I remained optimistic however because due to pandemic and children and young people not being able to go to schools and universities, our work only became that much more needed in the world.”

She added, “Initially, it felt impossible to build new relationships with institutional funds who didn’t already know us or who weren’t focusing only on their portfolio. As the world adjusted to fully remote, so did we and the investor community. One of the fun facts about our fundraising journey is that 10% of our investors came solely from introductions over Twitter.”

What you should know

Edlyft is a paid support platform that helps college students and adult learners through CS courses, by pairing them with inclusive mentors, online group tutoring, and tools for navigating complex subjects.

Venture capital is a form of private equity and a type of financing that investors provide to startup companies and small businesses that are believed to have long-term growth potential.