The establishment of Grid Asset Management Company (GAMCO), aimed at addressing the national grid and blackout issues, is sparking controversy across Nigeria.

The Federal Executive Council, FEC, made the approval at its meeting on Wednesday.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the firm’s establishment would strengthen the electricity transmission value chain.

“The President has seen that where the problem is mainly in our quest to solve the power problem is largely in the transmission section,” the minister said while announcing the approval after the FEC meeting.

However, the approval has stirred controversy as experts in the country’s electricity sector raised alarm over duplication of roles with Nigeria Integrated System Operator, NISO, and Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, at a time the sector faces a liquidity crisis.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies, Dr. Joy Ogaji, queried the duplication of roles with NISO and GAMCO’s legality in line with the Electricity Act, 2023.

“This raises many questions. What is NISO’s role? Is this formation in accordance with the EA 2023? ⁠Is TSP being phased out or will it operate side by side? What asset is this GAMCO going to manage?” She queried.

Also, the President of the Nigeria Consumer Protection Network, Kunle Olubiyo, said the move could lead to massive job losses in TCN.

“What happenes to the existing staff of the current Transmission Company of Nigeria?” Olubiyo asked.

This comes as the country grapples with a drop in power supply in the past weeks, which NISO attributed to a shortage in gas supply.

GenCos and the Nigerian Labour recently clashed over the N6.6 trillion power sector legacy debt.

A fire outbreak has once again been reported at St. Mary’s Catholic Church Wukari in the Wukari Local Government Area of Taraba State, sparking serious concern among members of the Catholic community and residents of the area.

The inferno happened a few months after the local government council secretariat was engulfed by fire.

The incident which occurred late night, reportedly engulfed parts of the Cathedral in what witnesses described as a sudden and distressing development.

As of the time of filing this report, the cause of the fire remains unknown, while the extent of damage and possible casualties have yet to be officially confirmed.

The development comes at particularly a difficult time for the Wukari Catholic Diocese, which is still grappling with the aftermath of recent incidents that reportedly led to the destruction of lives, parish churches, a rectory, and other valuable properties within the diocese.

Preliminary information indicates that the latest incident occurred about an hour before reports began circulating, leaving members of the Catholic faithful shocked and saddened as the day ended with the unfortunate development.

Despite the confusion that followed the outbreak, Fr. James Oliver, a priest in residence at the Cathedral, reportedly acted bravely during the incident.

He was said to have successfully rescued the Blessed Sacrament unharmed before the fire spread further within the church premises.

Members of the Catholic community and residents of Wukari have since expressed deep cincern over the situation. Many have taken to prayers, asking for God’s mercy and protection while hoping that no lives were lost in the incident.

Local authorities and emergency responders are expected to assess the damage and commence investigations to determine the root cause of the fire.

Meanwhile, some members of the church who spoke with Daily Post via telephone expressed concern that the situation might have been better managed if functional fire service vehicles were available within the council area.

According to them, the absence of operational fire service trucks across local government councils in the state has contributed to the difficulty in controlling fire outbreaks.

They noted that Wukari, where the incident occurred, is also the hometown of the incumbent state governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas.

The residents argued that the inability of the state government to adequately equip fire services across local government areas has made several infernos across the state difficult to contain.