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Electricity consumers to get meter payments refund – EKEDC
Electricity consumers to get meter payments refund – EKEDC
The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) says all electricity consumers who paid for meters under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme will be refunded through credit “token” within six months.
The Chief Executive Officer, EKEDC, Dr Tinuade Sanda, gave the assurance during a Customer Engagement Forum on Thursday in Agbara, a suburb of Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that customers at the forum were drawn from Agbara business unit which covers Agbara, Owode, Ijanikin, Ajara and Badagry.
Others are Ajido, Otto-Awori, Ketu, Pota, Avia, Oko-Afo, Aiyetoro, Seme, Ilogbo-Ereni, Era-Abule, Kwame, Aradagun and lbereko.
Sanda, represented by the General Manager, Commercial, Revenue Cycle, EKEDC, Mr Samuel Edoho, urged customers to key into the ongoing metering process to avoid being billed through estimated billing.
According to him, the only way to end the frequent complaint on alleged over-billing and estimated billing is to acquire meters.
“Customers who paid through MAP scheme will be refunded within six months.
“The Disco has started massive metering of customers who paid through the MAP scheme,” she said.
The EKEDC boss noted that the clarification became necessary because some consumers wanted to know if the money they paid for meters under the MAP scheme would be refunded.
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She explained that the essence of the forum was to interact with customers within their network on better way to improve service delivery.
“Our mission in Eko DisCo is to improve the quality of lives of all customers by utilising cutting-edge technology to safely, sustainably and reliably supply electricity.
“That is what we stand for, and we will continue to promote this,” Sanda said.
She expressed confidence that Eko Disco was committed to economic and infrastructure development.
She said that the company was also committed to delivering safe, reliable and steady power supply to customers within its network operations.
On metering, the chief executive officer said that the Distribution Company (Disco) had a goal to achieve 100 per cent metering of its customers.
She said that currently, DisCos had metered about 70 per cent of its customers, and was also working toward ensuring effective metering of the remaining 30 per cent.
The EKEDC’s boss further said that the money collected from customers was owned by all the players within the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) value chain.
“The remittances to the market operator by the DisCos are shared within the value chain and the balance received by them is used for infrastructure needs, operations and staff salaries.
“It is an acknowledged fact by all stakeholders in NESI that the elimination of estimated billings and urgent targeted metering of customers with prepaid meters is the way to go.
“Nowadays, there are bottlenecks specifically from Generation Companies (GenCos),” she said.
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On vandalism, Sanda urged customers to be their watchdogs and report destruction of equipment to the management.
She appealed to customers and stakeholders to support the company in tackling energy theft and vandalism within its network.
According to her, in spite of huge investment in power infrastructure by EKEDC, vandalism of equipment is still on the high side.
She said that activities of vandals were crippling power distribution to the company’s customers.
According to her, recently, we reported cases of stolen cables, damaged transformers and other network infrastructure.
She said that the company had invested huge amount on infrastructure development such as upgrading of equipment, transformers and poles.
Sanda, however, assured electricity consumers within its network that all complaints raised would be addressed.
In his remarks, the Baale of Era Town, Otto-Awori, Chief Olumide Erinle, commended Eko Disco management for prompt response to faults, while appealing to community representatives to bear with the company pending when their complaints are addressed.
Erinle urged EKEDC to embark more on enlightenment campaigns to educate communities within their network on the need to desist from building houses under high tension wires.
He said that Discos should ensure all complaints were addressed before the next town hall meeting.
“The issue of low-shedding of electricity in rural areas should be urgently addressed.
“All residents should also assist DisCo in securing their facilities to deliver on their promises,” he said.
Also, the Chairman, Customers Consultative Forum, Mr Festus Eweka, urged Eko Disco to install solar lights in all transformers and their facilities within the rural communities to safeguard the equipment.
Eweka commended the community leaders for their opinion and urged them to continue in protecting EKEDC’s facilities against vandals.
Electricity consumers to get meter payments refund – EKEDC
News
Nigeria’s solid minerals worth over $750bn — Minister
Nigeria’s solid minerals worth over $750bn — Minister
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, revealed a preliminary report by German firm GeoScan that estimates Nigeria’s solid minerals are worth $750 billion. He highlighted this during a summit organized by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) and Bruit Costaud, emphasizing the sector’s potential contribution to Nigeria’s goal of achieving a trillion-dollar economy.
Alake noted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to reforms in the mining sector to prevent Nigeria from merely being a mining pit for solid minerals. He stressed the importance of data availability to attract investors and stimulate job creation and economic growth through mineral processing plants.
“We are working with the World Bank, Excalibur and GeoScan, a German company, to get the necessary data on the sector. That is why the federal government signed a memorandum of understanding with Geoscan, and they did a preliminary survey of our minerals’ output and potential. They gave us a figure of $750bn worth of minerals embedded under the ground of Nigeria.”
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Collaborations with organizations like the World Bank, Excalibur, and GeoScan aim to gather essential data for the sector. The memorandum of understanding signed with GeoScan resulted in a preliminary survey revealing the substantial value of Nigeria’s mineral resources.
Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule highlighted the importance of investing in solid minerals, particularly citing the significance of lithium, which he likened to gold. He announced the impending commissioning of Nigeria’s largest lithium processing factory, expected to process 4,000 metric tons daily and transport over a million tons of lithium annually.
Ayo Omotaya, Director General of NIPSS, reiterated the summit’s purpose of charting a path forward for the mining sector, underscoring the necessity of strategic planning and collaboration to harness Nigeria’s mineral wealth.
Nigeria’s solid minerals worth over $750bn — Minister
News
Senate begins moves to harmonise NIN, BVN, other identity platforms
Senate begins moves to harmonise NIN, BVN, other identity platforms
The Senate advocates for integrating the National Identification Number (NIN), Bank Verification Number (BVN), and other digital identity platforms into a unified system. Salisu Shuiab, Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT, Cyber Crimes, highlighted this during a discussion with the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.
Shuiab emphasized that a single identity system is crucial for national security and anti-corruption efforts. He criticized the fragmented approach, citing it as wasteful and detrimental to security measures.
He said a unified digital identity system would also help the Federal government plan its various intervention programmes through equitable distribution of resources.
“I can assure Nigerians that the era where you have silos, one individual being a dimension in different places, is not only a waste, it also contributes to insecurity and indeed even corruption.
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“We are making a move to harmonise our identity database. We have engaged the relevant ministries—the Ministry of Communication Digital Economy, the Ministry of Industry, and even the CEO of the National Identity Management Commission—to ensure that a Nigerian who has registered with NIMC and has a national identity number is recognised across all platforms, whether for passport purposes, driver’s license, or the various interventions that the federal government is making.
“You cannot have a digital economy without a reliable digital identity, and digital identity starts with harmonising our database to ensure that one individual is recognised across all the systems,” Shuiab said.
He called for a partnership between FUNAAB and his office on training rural farmers in agricultural production.
In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of the FUNAAB, Prof. Olusola Kehinde, said he would be willing to partner with relevant agencies to ensure food security in the country.
Senate begins moves to harmonise NIN, BVN, other identity platforms
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FG approves salary increase for civil servants
FG approves salary increase for civil servants
The Federal Government has approved a salary increase of between 25 and 35 per cent for civil servants.
This move is coming on the eve of the 2024 Workers’ Day.
This was revealed in a statement on Tuesday by the Head of Press at the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC)Emmanuel Njoku.
The increment, it stated, would take effect from January 1, 2024.
The Salary Structure includes the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure (CONRAISS), Consolidated Police Salary Structure (CONPOSS), Consolidated Para-military Salary Structure (CONPASS), Consolidated Intelligence Community Salary Structure (CONICCS) and Consolidated Armed Forces Salary Structure (CONAFSS).
Those in the tertiary education and health sectors had already received their increases which involved Consolidated University Academic Salary Structure (CONUASS) and Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure (CONTISS) for universities.
For polytechnics and colleges of education, the statement indicated that the new salary structure involved the Consolidated Polytechnics and Colleges of Education Academic Staff Salary Structure (CONPCASS) and Consolidated Tertiary Educational Institutions Salary Structure (CONTEDISS).
Those in the Health Sector will also be benefiting through the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) and Consolidated Health Sector Salary Structure (CONHESS).
Also, the Federal Government has approved increase in pension of between 20 and 28 per cent for pensioners on the defined benefits scheme concerning the above-mentioned six consolidated salary structures.
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