Headline

Increase Cost Of Meters: Group Knocks FG, NERC

Published

4 years ago

November 25, 2021

A group, Coalition for Affordable and Regular Electricity (CARE), has condemned the Federal Government and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) over a planned decision to increase the prices of meters.

DAILY POST gathered that NERC has approved the increment of the unit price of the meters from N44,896.17 to N58,661.69 for single-phase meter and N82,855.19 to N109,684.36 for three-phase meter.

CARE in its reaction said that it was wrong to announce such a decision when Nigerians were still experiencing an erratic supply of electricity.

The group, in a statement made available to DAILY POST through its spokesman in Oyo State, Comrade Sunday Onakoya, described the decision as dubious.

Onakoya in the statement issued on Thursday explained that such a decision is a conspiracy between the NERC and distribution companies.

He maintained that the decision is aimed to satisfy profit interest at the expense of the poor, who are in the majority.

He further noted that such a decision will increase the economic hardship, which the majority of Nigerians are going through at this present time.

Onakoya said, “This decision is a dubious conspiracy between the NERC and DISCOs to satisfy profit interest at the expense of the Nigerian working people and the poor, and it will definitely increase the economic hardship which mass majority of Nigerians are going through at this present time.

“Given the desperate quest for profit which is the sole driven motive behind the existence of DISCOs and their activities, this new increment in the price of the meter under NMMR for instance will mean that the additional cost incurred by the DISCOs on every meter procured under this arrangement will be transferred to the consumers.

“The situation will definitely be the same if not worse under MAP where the electricity consumers will definitely spend a fortune to be able to procure meter at the newly increased price.

“It is in the light of this the CARE Oyo State rejects the NERC/FG decision to hike the price of meter with a conclusion that it’s an anti-people and unacceptable and therefore demands an immediate reversal. The argument seeking to liken meter to phone is fraudulent and unfounded. CARE rejects this as well as the related argument canvassing that the sale of meters should be liberalized.

“We reiterate our insistence that meter is the property of DISCOs and its free provision for adequate measurement of the accurate amount of energy consumed is the responsibility of DISCOs. Interestingly, this obligation of DISCO was acknowledged in the agreement it signed prior to its acquisition of PHCN in 2013.

“According to this agreement, all Nigerian Electricity consumers were promised to be freely metered by DISCOs within 18moths of the acquisition”.

Headline

12 Die, 30 Missing In Peru Landslide

Published

9 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

At least 12 people, including three children, died in a landslide at a river port in central Peru on Monday, and 30 were reported missing, officials said.

The landslide submerged a boat with about 50 passengers on board, and another with none, as they were docked at the port of Iparia in the Amazon jungle region of Ucayali, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

Six people were injured, it added, and a search and rescue operation was underway at the start of the Peruvian rainy season.

Without giving a toll, Peru’s COEN national emergency operations centre said on X that tragedy struck at dawn due to “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali river.

It said the navy has been called in to help.

AFP

Headline

Nigeria Grants Asylum To Guinea-Bissau Opposition Candidate

Published

9 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian embassy in Guinea-Bissau has granted asylum to Fernando Dias da Costa, the country’s opposition presidential candidate, following alleged threats to his life after last week’s military coup, The Cable Reports.

The coup was announced by military officers on Wednesday, just days after Guinea-Bissau’s presidential election in which both incumbent President Umaro Embaló and his main challenger, da Costa, claimed victory before official results were released.

Nigeria condemned the takeover and urged an immediate return to constitutional order.

In a letter to the President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, Omar Touray, dated November 30, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said President Bola Tinubu had approved asylum and protection for da Costa inside the Nigerian embassy in Bissau.

Tuggar wrote that the decision was made “in response to threats made against da Costa’s life.”

“In this regard, it would be appreciated if you would kindly mandate the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau to provide him protection and security while in the premises of the Nigerian embassy,” the letter stated.

The foreign affairs minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, confirmed the letter’s authenticity to The Cable on Monday.

He said, “The decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to grant asylum and provide protection to Fernando Dia Da Costa falls squarely within Nigeria’s sovereign responsibility and longstanding commitment to regional peace, stability, and democratic governance.”

He added that Nigeria acted “in the broader interest of de-escalation,” saying the government had exercised its discretion “to prevent further deterioration of tensions and to promote social cohesion in Guinea-Bissau and the wider West African sub-region.”

According to Abdulkadir, the intervention aligns with ECOWAS principles and reflects Nigeria’s role as a stabilising force in West Africa.

Following the coup, ECOWAS held an emergency virtual summit of heads of state and subsequently suspended Guinea-Bissau from the regional bloc until constitutional order is restored.

Headline

Trump To Attend FIFA World Cup Finals Draw On Friday

Published

10 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The White House on Monday confirmed US President Donald Trump would attend the draw for the FIFA World Cup finals in Washington later this week.

The United States will co-host the 2026 tournament alongside Canada and Mexico.

“On Friday, President Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup final draw at the Kennedy Centre,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Trump has made the World Cup a centrepiece event of both his second presidency and the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.

But the giant sporting extravaganza has not escaped the political turmoil caused by Trump’s hardline stance on a host of issues.

Trump, a Republican, has raised the possibility of moving games from some US host cities amid a crackdown on what he says is crime and illegal migration in some Democratic-run areas.

AFP