News

Electricity: TCN, DisCos Trade Blames Over Sector’s Poor Performance

Published

2 years ago

April 26, 2023

The Market Operator, a unit in the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN and electricity distribution companies, DisCos, have disagreed sharply over who is responsible for poor services rendered by the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, NESI.

The MO, a unit in the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, is responsible for issuing invoices and collecting payments for ancillary services provided by TCN, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, and other government agencies in the sector.

The Market Operator, Engr. Edmund Eje, in a statement yesterday blamed lack of growth in the Nigerian electricity market on the failure of companies to adhere to rules and regulations governing the sector.

He explained that the process of imposing sanctions on defaulting firms which disregard rules aimed at promoting the market has started.

Eje said sanctions could include partial disconnection from the National Grid.

The electricity sector which was partially privatised by the Federal Government in November 2013, has failed to deliver the expected improvement with generation, transmission and distribution averaging just 4,000MW.

Eje pointed out that adherence to rules is absolutely necessary for the viability and sustainability of the sector.

TCN had in March issued a 14-day ultimatum to nine electricity distribution companies, DisCos, three generation companies, GenCos and the Ajaokuta Steel Company to remedy their remittances and other with the Market Operator.

“As such, these rules are sacrosanct and must be complied with by all existing or new players in the sector.

“Essentially, the players in the power sector are the generators, transmission, and distribution companies.

“For all the players to interact effectively and create the requisite harmony for growth, efficiency, profitability and of course, continued sustenance of the sector, the rules set for governance and regulation of relationship between all in the sector must be obeyed and upheld”, he stated.

Dr. Eje added: “Market Participation Agreement is signed by all participants, but to comply with them is usually an uphill task for many. If the rules of every game are observed, there would be no need for sanctions”.

When contacted for comments, the Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, ANED, Barrister Sunday Oduntan declined, saying he was in a position to do so.

However, a source at one of the electricity distribution companies, DisCos, in the northern part of the country accused the Market Operator of playing to the gallery.

According to the source, “The MO works for TCN which is wholly government owned. What improvements have you seen in the transmission segment? Over the years, the government has also been in control of some DisCos and GenCos, how have they performed?

“The government remains the biggest challenge in the sector. All of us know what the issues are. Government agencies and parastatals remain the biggest debtors to DisCos. The MO wants us to remit monies that we have not collected. The Central Bank of Nigeria knows how much each DisCo collects and that is what is keeping the sector afloat.

“The MO knows that a new government is coming and that most of them will lose their positions. He is just posturing.

“Let us wait for the new government because the sector requires a major reset. Without electricity the economy cannot grow and so the sector must be a major priority for the incoming government”, Vanguard quoted the source.

News

FG Shuts 22 Illegal Tertiary Institutions

Published

4 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The National Commission for Colleges of Education has uncovered and shut down 22 illegal Colleges of Education.

The discovery was made during a crackdown on illegal colleges of education in the country.

The development was revealed in the commission’s achievements, seen by our correspondent.

“The NCCE identified and shut down 22 illegal Colleges of Education operating across the country.

“The NCCE conducted personnel audit, financial monitoring in all the 21 federal colleges of education,” the commission said.

President Bola Tinubu had recently urged the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education and the National Commission for Colleges of Education to weed out illegal higher institutions of learning in the country.

Speaking at the 14th convocation of the National Open University of Nigeria in Abuja, the President ordered the NUC, the NBTE, and other agencies to take decisive action against what he described as “certificate millers” undermining the credibility of the education sector.

Tinubu, who was represented by the Director of University Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Rakiya Ilyasu, warned that the integrity of the academic system must not be compromised.

“At this juncture, it has become imperative to reiterate that this administration remains committed to strengthening the integration of all agencies involved in the administration of education to enhance efficiency and quality,” the President said.

He added, “The National Youth Service Corps, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education and the National Commission for Colleges of Education are working in alignment to improve the quality of education and ensure that cases of forgery and unrecognised institutions both within and outside the country have no place in our education ecosystem.”

News

EFCC Orders Arrest Of Dismissed Officer On Lege Miami’s Show

Published

6 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has condemned the actions of one of its former staff, Olakunle Alex Folarin, who was recently spotted participating in a matchmaking programme on social media platforms hosted by popular entertainer Lege Miami.

The agency has ordered his immediate arrest for retaining official EFCC property, including an identity card, following his dismissal for certificate forgery.

The anti-graft agency, in a statement on its official X handle on Monday, said Folarin served as a driver at the EFCC’s Ibadan Zonal Directorate.

He was, however, dismissed after investigations confirmed he had forged his academic credentials.

It said, “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, condemned in the strongest terms, the involvement of one of its former staff, Olakunle Alex Folarin, in a matchmaking programme running on Lege Miami social media platforms.”

“Folarin was recently dismissed from the Commission for certificate forgery. He was a driver at the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.”

The statement said EFCC Executive Chairma,n Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has ordered Folarin to be arrested and emphasised that Folarin’s actions should not be associated with the commission.

“The Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has ordered his arrest for being in possession of some Commission’s properties, including an identity card, which he should have handed over upon being dismissed from the EFCC.

“The public is advised against associating Folarin’s post-dismissal conduct with the EFCC,” the statement concluded.

News

NERC Transfers Regulation Of Electricity Market To Bayelsa

Published

6 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has transferred regulatory oversight of the electricity market in Bayelsa State to the Bayelsa Electricity Regulatory Agency.

In a notice on its social media handles on Monday, the commission said this was in compliance with the amended 1999 Constitution and the Electricity Act 2023.

“In compliance with the amended Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electricity Act 2023 (Amended), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued an order to transfer regulatory oversight of the electricity market in Bayelsa State from the Commission to the Bayelsa State Electricity Regulatory Agency,” the commission said.

Recall that with the Electricity Act 2023, the commission retains the role as a central regulator with regulatory oversight on the interstate/international generation, transmission, supply, trading, and system operations.

The Act also mandates any state that intends to establish and regulate intrastate electricity markets to deliver a formal notification of its processes and requests NERC to transfer regulatory authority over electricity operations in the state to the state regulator.

The transfer order by NERC directed Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company Plc to incorporate a subsidiary distribution company to assume responsibilities for intrastate supply and distribution of electricity in Bayelsa State from PHED.

PHED was also directed to complete the incorporation of PHED SubCo within 60 days from August 21, 2025.

“The subcompany shall apply for and obtain a licence for the intrastate supply and distribution of electricity from BYERA, among other directives,” the commission said.

It concluded that all transfers envisaged by the order shall be completed by February 20, 2026.

With this order, Bayelsa has joined states like Lagos, Imo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Enugu, Niger, Edo, Oyo and Plateau, which have got the power to regulate electricity markets.

The state can now generate, transmit, and distribute electricity while issuing licences to investors within the value chain.