Business
Unmetered Disco customers can reject disputed bill – FCCPC boss
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission says unmetered customers have the right to withhold payment of disputed bills and pay only the last agreed bill pending resolution by the power firm or Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
The FCCPC Executive Vice-Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Babatunde Irukera, who stated this, also accused the power distribution companies in Nigeria of entrenching lack of transparency in their dealings with customers.
He spoke at the commission’s Electricity Consumer Complaint Resolution Platform for Eko and Ikeja Electricity DisCos supported by MacArthur Foundation.
He stated that the major challenge of the DisCos was not about inadequate supply to consumers but the lack of transparency in their day-to-day dealings with customers.
He stressed that a situation where consumers would be made to pay above their consumption would be resisted.
The FCPCC CEO said the agency had been inundated with complaints from electricity consumers across the country.
He lamented the huge level of complaints emanating from the power sector, saying of all the sectors regulated by the FCCPC, complaints about Discos’ activities topped the list.
He urged the power distribution companies to improve on service delivery, including the turnaround time for complaints resolution, stressing that when complaints were left unresolved for a longer period, there was the tendency for a customer to get agitated.
He said, “It is worrisome that the majority of the issues we attend to are from the power sector. That tells you that something is fundamentally wrong somewhere. And not until the root cause of the issue is addressed, we may not get out of the woods.
“If I may ask, why should it be the FCCPC that would bring both consumers and DisCos together in a bid to resolve issues? This should not be the norm. DisCos on their own should regularly engage consumers in a bid to address their complaints.”
Deputy General Manager, Consumer Services, NERC, Shittu Shaibu, said that the Federal Government was doing its best to ensure that issues around estimated billings were resolved once and for all.
He said this informed its intervention through the National Mass Metering Programme sponsored by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which targeted to meter six million customers over the next 18-36 months across the country.
Business
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
No fewer than 200 trucks are set to load petroleum products at the government-owned Port Harcourt Refinery, the presidency has said.
A presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare, made this known in a statement through his official X handle on Tuesday.
Newstrends had reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company on Tuesday announced that Port Harcourt Refinery has resumed operations and crude oil processing after years of inactivity.
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Reacting, Dare said, “200 trucks are expected to load products daily from the refinery, Renewing the Hopes of Nigeria.”
He added that “the Port Harcourt refinery has two wings.
“The Old Refinery comes on stream today with an installed production capacity of 60, 000 barrels per day of crude oil.”
PH refinery: 200 trucks will load petroleum products daily, says Presidency
Business
Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%
Breaking: CBN increases interest rate to 27.50%
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised the lending interest to 27.50 per cent from 27.25 per cent.
This latest increase in the Monetary Policy Rate came after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday and concluded Tuesday.
The Monetary Policy Rate measures the benchmark interest rate.
The CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, announced this in Abuja on Tuesday after the MPC meeting, last for the year, held at the apex bank’s headquarters.
He said the MPC voted unanimously to raise the MPR by 25 basis points from 27.25% to 27.50%; and retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50% for Deposit Money Banks and 16% for Merchant Banks.
The CBN governor also said the MPC retained the Liquidity Ratio (LR) at 30% and Asymmetric Corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR.
Business
Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS
Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in Q2 – NBS
Nigeria’s unemployment rate stood at 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said in its latest report.
The report released on Monday said the unemployment rate decreased compared to the 5.3 per cent recorded in the Q1 of 2024.
The NBS defined the unemployment rate as the share of the labour force (the combination of unemployed and employed people) who are not employed but actively searching and are available for work.
“The unemployment rate for Q2 2024 was 4.3%, showing an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the same period last year,” the report stated.
“The unemployment rate among males was 3.4% and 5.1% among females.
“By place of residence, the unemployment rate was 5.2% in urban areas and 2.8% in rural areas. Youth unemployment rate was 6.5% in Q2 2024, showing a decrease from 8.4% in Q1 2024.”
Report also said the unemployment rate among persons with post-secondary education was 4.8 per cent; 8.5 per cent among those with upper secondary education, 5.8 per cent for those with lower secondary education, and 2.8 per cent among those with primary education in Q2 2024.
Employment rate – 76%
The report showed that the employment-to-population ratio, which measures the number of employed workers against the total working-age population, increased to 76.1 per cent in Q2 2024.
“In Q2 2024, 76.1% of Nigeria’s working-age population was employed, up from 73.1% in Q1 2024,” the report stated.
Self-employment – 85.6%
The report further showed that Nigeria’s labour market saw a notable shift as the proportion of self-employed individuals increased in Q2 2024.
It stated, “The proportion of persons in self-employment in Q2 2024 was 85.6%.”
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