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Discos install 504,729 meters, unmetered customers now 7.1million

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Discos install 504,729 meters, unmetered customers now 7.1million

The number of power consumers without meters across the country is now 7,117,167, as a total of 504,729 meters were installed by electricity distribution companies between January and September 2023.

Data obtained from the latest third quarter report of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission indicated that as of September 30, 2023, there were 12,825,005 registered electricity customers in Nigeria’s power sector.

The NERC stated that out of this number, only 5,707,838 customers had been metered, which implies that over 7.1 million registered power users across the country lack meters.

A further analysis of the first, second and third quarter reports of the power sector regulator indicated that electricity distribution companies installed a total of 504,729 meters during the nine-month period.

They installed 175,281 meters in the first quarter, deployed 181,059 meters in the second quarter, while this dropped to 148,389 meters in the third quarter. Meter installations are ongoing in this current fourth quarter.

Providing an explanation on metering in its latest third quarter 2023 report, the commission said, “As at September 30, 2023, there were 12,825,005 registered electricity customers in the NESI (Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry) out of which only 5,707,838 (44.51 per cent) are metered.

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“Over the course of 2023/Q3, 148,389 end-user customers were metered. Ikeja, Abuja and Ibadan Discos had the highest number of meter installations in 2023/Q3, accounting for 27.35 per cent, 20.78 per cent and 17.53 per cent respectively of the total installations.”

It stated that the 148,389 meters installed in 2023/Q3 represented a decrease of 32,670 installations (-18.04 per cent), when compared to the 181,059 meters installed in 2023/Q2.

“The new installations resulted in a 0.35pp increase in net end-user metering rate in the NESI between 2023/Q2 (44.16 per cent) and 2023/Q3 (44.51 per cent),” the commission stated.

It noted that during the quarter, 147,736 meters were installed under the Meter Asset Provider framework, while 207 meters were installed under the National Mass Metering Programme framework.

The Vendor Financed framework recorded 446 meter installations while no meter installations were recorded under the Disco Financed framework,” the power sector regulator stated.

Operators in the sector have repeatedly blamed the liquidity crisis in the sector for the low deployment of meters and other challenges in the industry.

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The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, had during the recent power sector ministerial retreat in Abuja, admitted that financing was a major challenge in the business of electricity supply in Nigeria.

He disclosed this while speaking on finance, revenue assurance and capital investment programmes across the electricity value chain in Nigeria.

“The heart of NESI’s proposed reforms hinges upon securing long-term financing across the entire value chain.

“While past discussions highlighted concerns about the financial capacities of private sector players from the 2013 privatisation, our focus must centre on collaborative solutions to alleviate present liquidity challenges.

“Initiating this quest for robust investment involves attracting domestic institutional investors and reputable partners from well-governed sectors within the electricity value chain.

“At this retreat, we’ve invited established infrastructure financiers and fintech innovators to infuse fresh thinking into our industry, aiming to develop innovative policies enabling capital investment programmes and fiscal incentives that elevate the risk profile of sector opportunities to financeable levels,” the minister stated.

Discos install 504,729 meters, unmetered customers now 7.1million

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Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name

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Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo

Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name

Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has directed the immediate freezing of all state-owned bank accounts.

In a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, the governor stated that the accounts would remain frozen until further notice.

He instructed commercial banks, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to comply with the order immediately or face severe consequences.

The statement reads: “All state bank accounts with commercial banks have been frozen. Commercial banks must comply with this order and ensure that not a single naira is withdrawn from government coffers until further notice.

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“Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies must ensure full compliance without delay.

“Following necessary investigations and reconciliations, the governor will take appropriate action and decide on the way forward. For now, this order remains in effect.”

Okpebholo also directed relevant agencies to revert the name of the Ministry of Roads and Bridges to its previous title, the Ministry of Works, a change made during the Godwin Obaseki administration.

“It is odd to name a government institution the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, especially when not a single bridge was built by the previous administration — not even a pedestrian bridge.

“In the coming days, we will examine further actions taken by the previous administration and make decisions that serve the best interests of the state,” the statement added.

 

Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name

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Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi

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Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi

Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi

Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi has criticized the widely discussed two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling it a “deception.”

His remarks followed a recent summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh, where President Bola Tinubu and other leaders condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and urged an end to hostilities.

In an interview with Daily Trust at his Kaduna residence, Gumi argued, “This Two-State Solution is a deception. No Israeli will allow a Palestinian to survive, and Palestinians will never allow Israel to survive.

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The only solution is to dissolve the two states and create a democratically electable region.”

Gumi commended the OIC’s support for Palestine, noting that Muslims and Arabs worldwide increasingly see the treatment of Palestinians as “genocide” and accuse Israel of human rights abuses.

He also called for a return to the pre-1948 structure, where Palestinians, Jews, and Christians lived together, suggesting a single, inclusive state that allows peaceful coexistence.

“When I hear people talking about Two-State Solutions, I know they are just deceiving themselves,” Gumi added, advocating for a unified region where people of all faiths can live together, similar to the multi-faith coexistence seen in countries like the United States.

 

Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi

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Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll

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Olusola Ebiseni

Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll

The Labour Party candidature of Olusola Ebiseni for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State has been nullified.

The nullification follows the sacking of Ebiseni by the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday.

The governorship election of the southwest State will hold on Saturday, 16 November 2024.

The judgement disqualifying Ebiseni was unanimously delivered by the three members of the panel and read out by the chairman of the panel, Justice Adebukola Banjoko.

The judgment granted the prayer of the Labour Party who preferred the case against Ebiseni.

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Justice Banjoko held that, “the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 brought by the Labour Party against Chief Olusola Ebiseni and two others is allowed.”

Justice Banjoko further stated that the Certified True Copy of the judgment would be provided to the parties involved in the appeal as soon as possible for their review.

Recall that Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to accept and recognize Olusola Ebiseni and Ezekiel Awude as the Labour Party’s governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the November 16 Ondo State governorship elections.

Justice Nwite confirmed that the second primary election conducted by the Labour Party, which resulted in Ebiseni and Awude being selected as candidates, was valid and should be upheld by INEC.

However, the appellate court has now overturned the judgment of the trial court’s judgment.

 

Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll

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