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Workers, Consumers Reject Electricity Tariff Cut, Demand Total Reversal

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The Trade Union Congress (TUC), electricity workers, and consumers yesterday described as ‘negligible,’ the 8.1 per cent reduction in the tariff paid by Band A customers.

They rejected the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s reduction of the tariff payable by Band A customers from N225/kWh to N206.8/kWh and called for a reversal of the tariff announced last month, saying there should not be segregation of electricity users.

The House of Representatives and Center for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) Chief Executive Officer Muda Yusuf, however, described the review as a step in the right direction.

NERC which is the regulator of the nation’s electricity sector, had in a statement yesterday directed the 11 electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in the country to reduce Band A tariff from N225/kWh to N206.8/kWh for this month.

The DisCos immediately started complying with the order which NERC explained was primarily informed by the stability of the Naira against foreign currencies.

When the commission upped the tariff paid by customers on Band A feeders last month, it cited variables like the high cost of gas, prevailing exchange rate, and other macroeconomic factors as reasons.

However, there was an uproar over the adjustments from different quarters.

Yesterday, TUC which is the umbrella body of senior workers, said pre-April tariff of N66/KWh should be restored while NERC engages with stakeholders .

The union had during the May 1 Workers Day celebration, issued NERC a one- week ultimatum to return the tariff to the old price of N66/KKWh . The ultimatum expires today.

“Our ultimatum was very clear: revert to the old N66/KKWh not to reduce. Because the Electricity Act is very clear there should be stakeholders’ engagement. That was not done.

“ NERC has to revert to the old tariff and let there be stakeholders engagement in line with the provisions of the Electricity Act. So reducing it is unacceptable to us,” said TUC’s Deputy President Tommy Okon.

Also, National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) Ag. General Secretary Dominic Igwebike, said: ‘’We are asking for total reversal of the tariff for band A customers.’’

‘’To us as electricity workers, there should be no discriminatory tariff for Nigerians, “ added in a text message.

Consumers under the aegis of the Association for Public Policy Analysis (APPA), argued that the new rate of N206.80/kwh ‘’does not make any difference.’’

They wondered whether or not the reduction was enough incentive for manufacturers to remain in business or reduce the costs of their goods.

“Reducing it (tariff) what is the difference? N225, you are now reducing to N206.80. Industries are dying. What we should be asking is that this amount they are putting now, will it make the industry functional? Will it make the manufacturers to be able to manufacture more and reduce the costs of their products ?,” APPA National President Princewill Okorie, asked.

Recommending solutions to the Federal Government, Okorie urged it to reverse its policy on gas.

He said: ‘’Government should come up with a new policy that will spell out domestic gas obligation for power generation. Why should gas that is produced locally be sold to generating companies(GenCos) in dollars? How should Nigeria that lacks gas for electricity generation export the same product?

‘’It is not a patriotic policy. The solution we want is that the Federal Government should reverse the policy on gas.

“If gas is made available to the generation companies to generate electricity, tariff will be reduced. Why will we have gas in quantity and be buying gas in dollars in Nigeria and no percentage is reserved for generating electricity for Nigerians.

“Rather, the gas is sold abroad by private companies while citizens are suffering by paying high tariffs. It does not help. It is not a patriotic decision at all. Let gas be made available for GenCos.”

The APPA chief also called on the Federal Government to settle the N47 billion that its Ministries, Departments and Agencies are owing the DisCos.

He said that it was unfortunate that government’s decisions in the power were, more often, based on data from the DisCos and not those generated by any of its agencies .

Okorie asked: “Where are the data ? All these decisions taken in the power sector are they based on data from consumers generated at community level? Should the ministry (Power) depend of DisCos to give them report and not verify from the consumers.

“Who is overseeing consumers’ issues in the Ministry of power? Who is advising the ministry and the President on issues regarding power? Nobody.’’

But the House of Representatives which welcomed the 8.1 tariff reduction agreed that there is more to be done.

The House had on April 30 called on NERC to reverse N225/kWh tarrif increase. It also raised a committee to hold a public hearing with stakeholders in the power sector and Organised Labour.

Spokesman for the House Akintunde Rotimi told The Nation that the public hearing would proffer lasting solutions to frequent tariff increases by NERC and DisCos.

CPPE founder Yusuf said NERC had by the review shown that it was responsive to the peoples’ concerns

He added that he believes that the tariff slash, no matter how minimal, would have a positive impact on manufacturing in particular and electricity consumers in general.

Yusuf said: “The review is a welcome development and above every other thing it proves that NERC is sensitive to the concerns that have been expressed by the citizens, electricity consumers and the national assembly. It is a good development for manufacturers and electricity consumers generally.

“As to the factor of macroeconomic environment, I hope that if the situation changes may be by this month or next, NERC would not come back and start reviewing it again because there is also a need for stability in electricity tariff.

‘’Electricity is of strategic importance to the economy and not only for its comfort for the people but for the productivity in the economy.

‘’It is not a sector where we should be expecting another volatility because we have enough volatility in other sectors and no need adding that of electricity into it.’’

Why tariff was slashed, by NERC

Improvement in the exchange rate , among other macroeconomic parameters, induced the tariff reduction, said the commission.

It explained in a statement that the slash was in tandem with the tariff methodology covering this month.

“The commission has considered changes in the macroeconomic parameters over the preceding month of April 2024 and especially the appreciation of exchange rates – consequently the Commission has approved a downward review of end-user tariffs for Band “A” customers from N225/kWh to N206.8/kWh,” the statement read.

NERC also reiterated that it was committed to providing a balanced and effective regulatory regime serving the needs of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

In their separate reactions, the DisCos which complied almost immediately by reducing the Band A tariff, said they follow ‘’directives given by the regulators knowing they are in the best interest of all parties.’’

They assured customers of continued improvement in service delivery.

Ikeja Electricity (IE) Head of Corporate Communications, Kingsley Okotie, assured customers in Bands B, C, D, and E that their tariff ‘’remains unchanged.”

Okotie added: “We are a compliant Disco; we follow directives given by the regulators knowing it is in the best interest of all parties. We assure our customers of continued improvement in our service delivery as we strive to give them a better quality of service.

‘’Please be informed of the downward tariff review of our Band A feeders from N225/kwh to N206.80/kwh effective 6th May 2024 with guaranteed availability of 20 to 24 hours supply daily.’’

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company said: “We are pleased to share with you the revised tariff for our Band A feeders, which will decrease from N225/kWh to N206.80/kWh effective today(Monday). We assure customers on our Band A feeders of continued availability of electricity supply for 20-24 hours daily.”

 

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Igbos Responsible For Killings, Kidnappings In South-East – Joe Igbokwe

“From Anambra to Enugu State, from Enugu to Ebonyi State, from Ebonyi to Abia State and from Abia to Imo State it is no longer Fulani Herdsmen.
“It’s Igbo kidnapping Igbo, it is Igbo killing Igbo, it is Igbo destroying Igboland. So that you know”.

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A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Joe Igbokwe has blamed the deteriorating security situation in the South-East on activities of some citizens of the region.

In a controversial post on his official Facebook page on Monday, Igbokwe exonerated Fulani herdsmen that were hitherto accused of causing the mayhem in the South-Eastern part of the nation.

According to Igbokwe, Igbos are the ones “destroying” the five states in the geo-political zone.

He wrote, “From Anambra to Enugu State, from Enugu to Ebonyi State, from Ebonyi to Abia State and from Abia to Imo State it is no longer Fulani Herdsmen.

“It’s Igbo kidnapping Igbo, it is Igbo killing Igbo, it is Igbo destroying Igboland. So that you know”.

JomogNews reports that the APC chieftain has been vocal against the wanton killings allegedly being carried out by members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB.

Some prominent personalities were recently kidnapped and killed by the daredevil criminal elements.

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UCH Power Crisis Embarrassment To Nigerian Government – Minister

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The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC, has agreed to restore electricity supply at the University College Hospital, UCH, Ibadan.

The announcement was made on Monday during a visit of the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu to the hospital.

Recall that UCH has been having power crisis in the last one year.

The power supply to the hospital was cut of by IBEDC three times in 2024.

The electricity distribution company has now agreed to restore the power supply within 48 hours.

This was part of the resolutions of the tripartite meeting between Adelabu, the Chief Medical Director of UCH, Professor Jesse Otegbayo, and the management team of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC, led its Managing Director, Francis Agoha.

Our correspondent reports that while the meeting was ongoing, some medical students were protesting close to the venue of the meeting.

Adelabu, who spoke after the meeting, said that all the issues relating to the lingering power crisis had been resolved.

He described the lingering power crisis as not only an embarrassment to the management of the hospital but the federal government.

“Power crisis in the UCH has gone to embarrassing level. It is quite embarrassing to have the hospital in total darkness for so long. I have intervened in the matter several times but the problem still lingers.

“Other Teaching Hospitals, including the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, (LUTH), University of Calabar, Maidiguri and Abuja that had similar issue were able to surmount it through the Federal government intervention of Solar mini grid.

“Similar thing will be done at the University of Ibadan and the College of Medicine. The Federal government will install 50 mgw solar mini grid which will be completed within the first and second quarter of the year.

“Also, while this is going on, the IBEDC has agreed to restore electricity to some sections of the Hospital within 48 hours while N283m will be settled on an instalment basis.

“The management of the UCH has agreed on immediate settlement of the debt on instalment payment which is going to be between 8-12 months in addition to the current bill,” he stated.

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Polaris Bank, Partners Take Presentation Of School Essentials To Gbaja Girls Secondary Schools, Lagos

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Polaris Bank and one of its strategic CSR partners, Evolve Trust Charity on Wednesday stormed Gbaja Girls (Junior and Senior) High School, Surulere, Lagos in continuation of its presentation of school essentials programme to selected public school students in the country.

The partnership which birthed in 2021 and primarily focused on empowering the girl-child and their male counterparts has reached over 15,000 students across 35 public schools in nine states including Lagos, Kano, Kogi, Imo and FCT, Abuja. Amongst other things, the initiative includes empowering young learners with brain training techniques and emotional intelligence education alongside making and distributing user-sized school essentials (bags, uniforms, sandals, books, and pens). The initiative also captures training of teachers in the respective schools, all sponsored by the Bank.

Speaking at the presentation on Wednesday, the Bank’s Executive Director, Corporate and Investment Banking, Mrs. Abimbola Ozomah emphasized that the Bank being a signatory to United Nations’ (UN) Principles for Responsible Banking aligns its practices and strategies with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement thus igniting its sustained interests in the training of the girl-child.

According to data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), there are about 10.5 million out of school children in Nigeria with six million of them being girls.

“This event is not just about distributing educational materials but empowering girls for bigger roles because educated girls grow into informed women. At Polaris Bank, we are committed to bridging the educational gap, empowering girls and building sustainability aligning with global framework,” she said.

The Executive Director further charged the students to embrace the opportunities inherent in education while stating that the Bank will stop at nothing to support them.

“Education is most powerful tool at your disposal and you have to utilize it to the maximum. Polaris Bank will not relent in supporting this laudable mission to empower girls who will drive the needed change to better our country and world. This intervention is in line with the Bank’s ongoing sustainability efforts aimed at reducing out-of-school children population and increasing access to quality education, especially for the girl-child and we urge you all to take full advantage,” Ozoma noted.

Also speaking, Programme Manager at Evolve Charity Trust, Ejeh Godwin thanked Polaris Bank for keying into the Trust’s mission of supporting the girl-child nationwide. Godwin noted that while the initiative commenced in 2020, Polaris Bank partnered in 2021 and the Bank has never for once backed out since then.

“I want to specially appreciate Polaris Bank for their tremendous support since 2021 that the partnership started. We couldn’t have done this alone nor come this far without their support. We’ve expanded our reach and hope to even bring more schools in other states on board this year, all thanks to Polaris Bank,” Ejeh said.

The Principal, Gbaja Girls Junior High School, Mrs Dabiri Nwabuoku Adetoun Iyabo in her remarks also appreciated Polaris Bank for including the school in the intervention programme.

“I want to specially thank Polaris Bank on behalf of staff and students for finding us worthy of benefitting from this laudable programme. You can feel the energy in the hall that the students are happy and so are the staff. This has boosted our morale, and we are incredibly happy about it,” the Principal enthused.

One of the beneficiaries and Assistant Senior Girl of the school, Bankole Oreofeoluwa Emmanuella also thanked the Bank for symbolic gesture while promising to put the items into judicious use.

“My friends and I are happy about this gesture from Polaris Bank, and we can’t thank the bank enough. These items will further ease our learning, and we promise to not only put them to judicious use, but imbibe good maintenance culture,” Bankole said.

Highlight of the event was the presentation of the items to students by officials of Polaris Bank and Evolve Charity Trust.

 

Photo caption:
PHOTO CAPTION
L-R: Divisional Head, SURULERE Business, Dr. Bimbo Akorede; Principal Gbaja Junior Girls School, Mrs.Tawakalitu Dahiru; ED, Corporate & Investment Banking, Polaris Bank, Mrs. Abimbola Ozomah; ED PaceGate Limited, Raj Totlani, Group Head, Customer Experience & Value Mngt; Bukola Oluyadi & GM, Evolve Charity Trust, Mr. Godwin Ejeh when Polaris Bank & Evolve Charity Donated over 200 Schools essentials to both Gbaja Junior and Senior Secondary Schools in SURULERE last week in Lagos

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