OPEC is ready on oil production freeze to combat low prices - Minister of State for Petroleum

In spite of recent disagreements between the organizatoin’s members, Minister of state for Petroleum Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said that OPEC will be able to come together in an agreement to freeze oil production as a way to combat low oil prices.

“The Minister for energy in Qatar and the President of OPEC is leading that pact and there is a lot of conversation going on and there’s a lot of consensus building on the issue of the freeze,” Kachikwu said in an interview in Qatar
“Saudi Arabia and Russia are aligned on the issue of a freeze, so I think the chances are very high,” Kachikwu added

Former Nigeria Leader Son In Ghastly Auto Accident

Former President Obasanjo’s son, Oba, was in a ghastly auto accident today on his way from Ilesha in Osun state where he had gone to attend the 75th birthday party ceremony of his stepmother, Mabel.

An eyewitness said the car he was driving is now a write-off with occupants including Oba sustaining critical injuries. A family source told Saharareporters that Oba and others injured in the accident have been taken to the University teaching Hospital in Ibadan, Oyo state for treatment.

Sex is not just an emotional mystery. Its very existence poses a deep question

GUILT-FREE intercourse may, as Philip Larkin wrote, have begun in 1963, but sexual reproduction has been around a good deal longer than that. Single-celled organisms began exchanging and mixing up genetic information in ways modern biologists recognise as rudimentary forms of sex about two billion years ago. Yet the question of why sex exists at all remains troublesome. A creature which reproduces asexually passes on all of its genes to each of its progeny. One that mates with another, by contrast, passes on only half of them. On the face of things that is a huge selective disadvantage. There must therefore, evolutionary biologists believe, be equally huge compensating benefits.

Two ideas exist about what these might be. One is that the constantly changing genetic variety sex creates stops parasites and pathogens evolving stable techniques for exploiting a host species. This is the “Red Queen” hypothesis, an allusion to a character in “Through the Looking-Glass” who had to run as fast as she could to stay in the same place. The other idea is that the continual mixing of genes from generation to generation separates good and bad mutations, permitting the bad ones to be purged by natural selection without taking the good ones along for the ride. This process was described by Joel Peck, one of its progenitors, as plucking rubies from rubbish.

Despite having two sexes, known as mating-types a and alpha, yeast’s default mode of reproduction is asexual, so Dr Desai’s first task was to work out a way to turn his yeast cells on to sex, as it were. He did this by adding to their DNA genes for resistance to two antibiotics, hygromycin and G418, and arranging for this resistance to be turned on only when the gene for mating was also active. Adding the antibiotics to the yeast’s growth medium meant only sexually active yeast cells could survive.“Plucking rubies” and the “Red Queen” are not mutually exclusive. Both could be true. But, while the queen has experimental evidence to back her up, rubies have had little such validation. Until now. For Michael Desai of Harvard University believes he has demonstrated such plucking experimentally in brewer’s yeast. This is a well-understood experimental organism and one ideal for Dr Desai’s purpose because it can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Studying the switch between the two modes, he hoped, might illuminate the purging process. And, as he and his team writein Nature, it has.

This done, he and his team set up 24 lines of this modified strain (12 of mating-type a and 12 of alpha) and let them grow for six months, a period that corresponds to about 1,000 yeast generations. Six lines of each mating type were forced to undergo sexual reproduction every 90 generations, by mixing the sexes together and adding the antibiotics. Others were left to carry on cloning themselves. At these 90-generation break points the researchers also sampled each line to look for any genetic mutations that had arisen in the intervening period. Such mutations are the stuff of evolution, and Dr Desai hoped they might tell the story of why, in an evolutionary sense, sex works.

They did. The researchers found, as predicted, that when a beneficial mutation appeared in a few of the asexually reproducing cells, it would spread only if its positive effects outweighed the negative effects of any deleterious mutations that appeared in the same cells. Even if a good mutation prospered, it did so slowly, as any bad mutations associated with it came along for the ride when the genome it was in passed from one generation to the next.

In the sexual yeast population, however, good and bad mutations often went their separate ways when the parent cell’s genome was chopped up and mixed around during reproduction. This permitted different combinations of good and bad mutations to pass to the genomes of different offspring of the same parent cells. That made it easier, in an evolutionary sorting of wheat from chaff, for the good mutations to spread, even if they first appeared in bad company. So, as evolutionary theory predicts, over the course of the experiment genomes containing deleterious mutations disappeared and positive mutations accumulated in the genomes of cells that remained.

The crucial test, though, came at the end of the experiment, when Dr Desai compared the asexual to the sexual strains. In every case, the descendants of sexually reproducing yeast cells bested their asexual rivals in the competition for food and resources. His experiments thus confirm that the ruby hypothesis works—at least, in a laboratory. That puts it on an equal footing with the Red Queen. What goes on in the wild, though, has yet to be determined.

With The Economist

Hillary Clinton defeats Bernie Sanders in South Carolina primary

Hillary Clinton demolished Bernie Sanders in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday, soothing the sting of her defeat in New Hampshire and setting the stage for a Super Tuesday triumph.

The final margin of victory was a staggering 48 points, with Mrs Clinton winning among black voters by a four-to-one margin and erasing large deficits among young people and progressives.

The candidates will now move on to “Super Tuesday”, when eleven states will go to the polls in a single day. If Mrs Clinton delivers a strong performance three days from now, that could well be the knockout blow to the Sanders campaign.

“Today you sent a message: in America when we stand together there is no barrier too big to break,” Mrs Clinton told jubilant supporters at a victory rally in Columbia, South Carolina. “Tomorrow, this campaign goes national.”

The former secretary of state, who had yet to secure a resounding victory prior to Saturday, had looked to South Carolina as her firewall after early stumbles in Iowa and New Hampshire.

The majority of the Democratic electorate in the southern state is black, and the Clinton family has built an extensive network in the state over the past two decades.

No one anticipated such a massive gap between the rival candidates, however, and there was little question after the results came in about who would enter the upcoming contests with the wind at her back.

Some attributed Mrs Clinton’s dominance to the “Trump factor”. As Donald Trump has tightened his grip on the Republican nomination, the theory goes, Democrats have begun to consolidate on the candidate they view as the strongest alternative in the general election.

Whatever the cause, it was a far different result than eight years ago, when Barack Obama defeated Mrs Clinton in the Palmetto State, a victory which fuelled his drive to the Democratic nomination that year.

Mr Sanders was gracious in defeat, congratulating Mrs Clinton on a “very strong victory”.

“In politics on a given night sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Tonight we lost,” he said, before noting that he expects to win “many, many” delegates on Super Tuesday.

He had fled South Carolina before the results came in, and it was a subdued Mr Sanders who took the stage on Saturday in Minnesota.

“What this election is about is not just electing a president - yeah, that’s pretty important - but it is about transforming America,” he said.

He did signal that he will fight on, however, criticising Mrs Clinton for taking money from Wall St and refusing to turn over transcripts from her paid speeches.

Polls show Mrs Clinton out front in eight of the 11 Super Tuesday states, many of which are in the Southeast and resemble South Carolina from a demographic standpoint.

Mr Sanders leads only in Massachusetts and his home state of Vermont (there is no recent polling data from Colorado).

If Tuesday unfolds as Saturday did, with Mrs Clinton continuing her dominance among minorities while making inroads among the key Sanders demographics of young and well educated voters, the race will be all but over.

With The Telegraph

DISCOs throws the nation into darkness, after new tariff rejection

The Guardian reported that the current huge drop in electricity supply across many parts of the country might be the result of subtle protest or even sabotage by Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOS).

The National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had kick-started a new tariff regime February 1, 2016. The move was, however, resisted by labour unions and other Nigerians who took to the streets in protest. Besides, a suspension order by the Senate put paid to the plan.

Following the directive by the upper legislative chamber, the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distribution Companies (ANED) had warned that suspending the new tariff could throw the nation into darkness. And true to their threat, the nation has plunged into darkness for two weeks and still running.

According to the Executive Director, Advocacy and Research of the Association, Sunday Oduntan, the absence of what he called a market priced tariff could cause performance failure by the operators.

In Enugu State, home of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), residents say supply has gone from bad to worse. Generators run full throttle, even as some parts have been without power for weeks. While in some places, supply is erratic; in others, the EEDC has resorted to load shedding.

They noted that the situation degenerated only after the Senate had refused to give a nod to the tariff increase. “The EEDC has not fulfilled any of its promises in the last two years. Several areas with old and malfunctioning transformers have been left to their fate. The Company has not installed any single pre-paid meter since it took over. Dilapidated facilities can be seen all over the five states it covers. The issue of estimated billing still holds sway, amid the poor supply.

“The Company itself appears to be more interested in improving revenue than providing supply to the residents,” said Mr. Ikechi Ugwu, who regretted he had been paying for darkness at his Emene residence.

Moving a motion in the lead up to suspension of the new tariff, Senator Suleiman Nafiz (APC Bauchi North) had said: “The increase is only intended to protect the investment of a select few and not to serve the interest of Nigerian masses who are already battling with the prevailing economic situation.”

EEDC’s Communications Manager, Mr. Emeka Ezeh, could not be reached for his reactions as at press time. A source close to the Company, however, attributed the problem to debts EEDC might have incurred during acquisition, and which it might be struggling to service, adding that the development has hindered new investment that should have enhanced supply in the zone.

The situation is no better in Edo State where several parts have experienced abysmal plunge in supply. In Igarra, headquarters of Akoko-Edo Local Government Area, Some residents complained that rationing of supply has become the order of the day. Inhabitants of Ujabhole-Uwessan Irrua in Esan Central Local Government say there is no indication their eight-month spell of darkness would change any sooner. In parts of Benin, they say there has been no improvement in supply to justify any increase in tariff, while power in the last one week has turned epileptic in the Igbukhioko area of Ekenwan Road.

‎At Isior and Adolor areas, it was a litany of woes. One owner of a guesthouse, who gave his name as Kelvin, regretted how he now spends about N6,000 daily on fuel to keep his generators running.

But the Assistant General Manager, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC) argued that the ongoing shortfall in supply has nothing to do with the Senate’s directive, which put on hold the implementation of the new tariff.

Alhaji Abdulazeez Abdullahi said: “Far from it; there is nothing like sabotage in electricity supply,” adding that the National Assembly does not have the power to direct a return to the old tariff.

KEDC attributed the current poor supply in its franchise area to low allocation from the National Grid, occasioned by vandalisation of gas pipelines and other facilities in the south-south and south-west regions of the country.

Abdullahi said: “The frequency in the National Grid has been fluctuating and has been highly unstable lately. Kaduna Electric was allocated only 181 megawatts (today) for distribution in Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States, the operational territory of the Company, as against 410 megawatts that hitherto was being allocated.”

Kaduna residents, meanwhile, are groaning under the burden of the poor supply. One angry consumer said: “The salaries of civil servants have not been increased; why should they, from the meager amount, offset increase in tariff?”

For Kano resident, Ahmad Baban Bene: “We have been facing this problem because of the Senate’s decision.” Affected parts of the state include Rijiyar Zaki, Sharada, Unguwa Uku, among others.

But Muhammad Kandi, Public Relations Officer of Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), said people should dismiss such insinuations, stressing that there had been epileptic supply even before the Senate’s order.

“The generating companies are facing a serious challenge of gas supply; that is why we are having this problem,” said Kandi.
Asked whether the controversial increase in tariff has the prospect of guaranteeing stable power supply in the country, a public affairs analyst, Mr. Lai Omotola said: “The new tariff regime will not produce desired result the way the Minister of Power, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has painted it. The reasons are not too far-fetched. One is the technical capacity of our indigenous companies. The other is the financial capacity of the indigenous companies to bring together necessary infrastructure that can guarantee steady supply of electricity in the country.”

Omotola, who is the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of CFL Group of Companies and Publisher of InfraWatch Nigeria Limited, reasoned that the nation’s power sector missed the roadmap when it failed to bring on board dominant foreign equity players.

“From the beginning, we said it was not enough for indigenous companies to just bring technical partners. It would have been better for indigenous companies to bring technical partners that would also bring equity into that partnership, which is lacking.

“If the man brings equity, it means he is not just a contractor to the indigenous company, but also an investor. The indigenous company will now be able to leverage on two things: its technical competence and financial coverage. That was missing in the bid and now, we are where we are today. As far as the sector is concerned, we do not have a dominant foreign equity player.”