Vanguard News
Communities raise alarm over estimated billing in Ibadan
On
By Adeola Badru
Community leaders of Lalupon/Iwo Road Feeder Electricity Consumers Association Ibadan, have raised an alarm over what they termed as outrageous billing system from the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).
The community leaders, carrying placards with various inscriptions calling on IBEDC to stop the outrageous and insensitive billings, cried out for help at the office of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) located at Iyaganku GRA Quarters Ibadan, yesterday.
Consequent to their plea, NERC however, ordered IBEDC to write off every accumulated billing of all communities on Lalupon/Iwo Road Feeder Electricity, in Ibadan, up till November 2020.
Vanguard News
Metering: FG takes delivery of 656,752 prepaid meters
On
By Udeme Akpan
The Federal Government has taken delivery of 656,752 prepaid meters, under the phase 0 of the Central Bank of Nigeria-funded National Mass Metering Programme, NMMP.
This represents almost 85 percent of the one million meters to be provided to Nigerians, whose bills are still based on estimation.
However, of the 656,752 prepaid meters, 305,962 have already been installed for consumers, according to the Special Adviser to the President on Infrastructure, Mr. Ahmad Zakari.
In an interview with Vanguard, weekend, he said: “The major problem faced by the indigenous producers and Meter Asset Providers, MAPs is the pace of ramp-up of available personnel for installation. Another problem is the lack of a vital plastic component as one of the two major global suppliers (based in Germany) had shut down during the Coronavirus pandemic, resulting in pressure to the value chain.
Obstacles to Nigeria’s post-COVID-19 economic revival
Sam Amadi,
Published 10 May 2021
Nigeria is trapped in severe insecurity. The country is the third most terrorised country in the world, after Afghanistan and Iran, according to the 2020 Global Terrorism Index. War-torn Somalia and Syria have better ranking than Nigeria on the index. The country is also grappling with an acute economic challenge. To highlight the dire situation, about 40% of Nigerians are extremely poor, according to data by the National Bureau of Statistics. Inflation is in double digit. And the naira has continued to devalue.
How did Nigeria’s economy and society collapse so quickly? What tragedy dragged us quickly down?
Total electrification of Nigeria has now become imperative
Nigeria s Minister of Power Saleh Mamman
The issue of 24 hours a day, seven days a week adequate electricity supply to all the villages, towns and cities in Nigeria has remained a matter of concern to many well meaning Nigerians ever since the country acquired self rule on 1 October 1960. The huge sums of money allocated to this sector have never been appropriately utilized because of the cancerous official corruption that has continued to eat deeply into the fabric of the Nigerian society, especially among the civil service and government agencies saddled with the responsibility of projects management.
The way NERC gleefully rushes to implement new electricity tariff makes it look like that is its only primary function.
NERC had, in an order signed by its Chairman, Sanusi Garba and one of its Commissioners, Dafe Akpeneye, kicked off the year on January 1, 2021, by instructing DISCOs to increase tariff.
This followed a suspension of an earlier order issued in August, increasing tariff from September 1, 2020. However, a threat by The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to go on a nationwide strike forced the government to suspend the tariff for two weeks ending October 15th, 2020.
At the completion of the two-week suspension, the federal government and organized Labour agreed to provide a three-month tariff relief of N10.20 per kilowatt-hour for Nigerians and also distribute six million free meters.