News

National Grid Collapses Again, Throws Nigerians Into Blackout

Published

4 weeks ago

April 15, 2024

Editor

Nigeria has witnessed its sixth power grid collapse of 2024, as electricity generation on the system collapsed from 2,583.77MW at 2am on Monday to 64.7MW around 3 am.

Nigeria generates an average of 4,000MW of electricity for an estimated 200 million citizens across the country.

But this is hardly sustainable, as the grid continues to record incessant collapse due to gas supply constraints, transmission infrastructure vandalism, and liquidity crisis, among others.

Data from the Independent System Operator, an arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, showed that only one electricity generation company, Ibom Power, was active at the time of the grid collapse on Monday morning.

Power generation on the grid crashed further to 44.5MW around 4am, before rising to 132.29MW an hour later.

The grid collapse was confirmed by Jos Electricity Distribution Company.

The Head, Corporate Affairs, JEDC, Dr Friday Elijah, in a notice to customers, said, “The current outage being experienced within our franchise states is a result of loss of power supply from the national grid.

“The loss of power supply from the national grid occurred in the early hours at about 0242hours of today, Monday, April 15, 2024, hence the loss of power supply on all our feeders.”

Elijah, however, expressed hope that the grid would be restored for normal power supply to electricity consumers.

On February 5, 2024, The PUNCH reported that power generation on the national grid crashed to 59.9MW around 12 pm on February 4, 2024, as the country’s grid witnessed a nationwide collapse.

The report stated that data obtained from the Federal Ministry of Power showed that electricity generation on the grid plunged from 2,658.75MW at 11 am to 59.9MW by 12 noon on February 4, 2024, as power distributors lost supply from the grid.

This led to widespread blackouts across the country, as power distribution companies blamed it on the collapse of the grid managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, an agency of the Federal Government.

News

EFCC Trial: ‘Even The Prophets Went To Prison’ – Buhari’s Minister Comforts Self In Court

Published

3 hours ago

May 10, 2024

Editor

A former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, standing trial for an alleged N7.2bn fraud, said he was ready to go to prison just like the prophets.

Sirika, his daughter, and three others were arraigned at a Federal Capital Territory High Court on Thursday on a six-count amended criminal charge before Justice Sylvanus Oriji.

A video of the ex-minister speaking in court with his lawyers surfaced on X on Thursday.

In the video, Sirika, dressed in cream Babariga, could be heard saying, “It’s okay. Fatima, it’s okay,” while comforting his daughter.

He continued, “Even prophets have gone (to prison). Those that went, haven’t they finished theirs already?…whatever Allah says”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had accused the ex-minister, his daughter, son-in-law and Al-Duraq Investment Limited, of fraud in connection with the botched Nigerian Air project.

Meanwhile, the court granted each of the defendants bail in the sum of N100m with two sureties each.

Before the trial judge, Justice Sylvanus Orji granted the bail request of the defendants, they pleaded not guilty to all the charges preferred against them after it was read out to them.

The prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs SAN, had informed the court of an amended charge by the EFCC dated May 7, and filed on May 8, which was not opposed by the counsel for the defendants.

Sirika’s lead counsel, Kanu Agabi (SAN), informed the court of his client’s bail application dated May 6.

The other defendants similarly, moved their bail applications and prayed the court to be liberal in the bail conditions.

Jacobs, on his part, told the court that all the defendants were on administrative bail and asked the court to grant bail on the condition that would make them appear for their trials.

Apart from the N100m bail, Justice Osuji added that one of the sureties must own a landed property with valid land titles in like sum within the Federal Capital Territory.

The judge also held that the sureties must depose to an affidavit of means while he barred the defendants from travelling outside the country without its permission.

He added that failure to fulfil the bail conditions would earn the defendants a stay in a correctional facility.