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Outages: FG To Sanction Non-performing Discos

Published

1 year ago

February 13, 2024

Power distribution companies that are performing below stipulated standards in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry are going to lose 50 per cent of their operating expenditures, the Federal Government declared on Monday.

It made the declaration through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission at the 1st NESI Stakeholders Meeting of 2024 in Lagos, stressing that the individual performances of the Discos shall be examined on a case by case basis going forward.

Officially, Nigeria has 11 power distribution companies that supply electricity to over 12 million registered power users across the country.

The successor Discos were privatised in November 2013, alongside the power generation companies that produce the electricity supplied to the national grid.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria transmits the power produced by the Gencos to the Discos for onward distribution to users nationwide.

But the sector has been plagued by series of concerns, top among which is the issue of poor liquidity, and complains around the inability of Discos to make adequate financial remittances to the industry to guarantee power production.

But in series of posts on the power sector regulator’s official X handle on Monday, it was stated that the Vice Chairman, NERC, Musiliu Useni, urged Discos to improve their performance or suffer consequence.

He was quoted as saying, “NERC will look at performance on a case by case basis. Sanctions and actions will not be the same. Ensure that you (Discos) improve your efficiency.

“If your efficiency is at the level expected, you will get your full OPEX (operating expenditure). If you don’t perform, you will only get 50 per cent of your admin OPEX.”

NERC, as the regulator of the power sector, has the power to approve the operating expenditures of Discos and other key operators in the industry, and it has been doing this over the years.

Speaking on the operationalisation of Ministries Departments and Agencies centralised billing platform, Useni told his audience that this was being handled by the finance ministry.

“A payment system was put in place for critical MDAs, with an agreement for the central settlement of their electricity consumption by the Ministry of Finance, which would have access to their meter readings,” he stated.

He further noted that the sector must be run sustainably in terms of payment obligations by various operators.

“We need to ensure that sustainable payment going forward is in place. Market rules are clear, but they don’t envisage there would be tariff shortfall or subsidy,” Useni stated.

The commission stated that the meeting was expected to provide strategic direction for the NESI, review compliance since the last meeting, and give licensees a platform to discuss issues.

Also speaking at the meeting, the Commissioner, Engineering, Performance and Monitoring, NERC, Chidi Ike, said the responsibilities of licensees in the NESI shall be examined.

“We are planning to organise a comprehensive workshop for licensees to examine their responsibilities. The workshop will cover the legal framework, grid code, HSE (health, safety and environment), and everything they need to know, following which there will be sanctions for non-compliance,” he stated.

He expressed worry over the construction of houses under transmission lines and warned Discos to desist from supplying such structures with power.

“You see swathes of communities under transmission lines. Discos supply power to them despite them being in clear contravention of the Right of Way of TCN. We are going to focus on those areas and make sure that Discos aren’t going to benefit from any form of illegality,” Ike stated.

On his part, the Assistant General Manager, Engineering, Performance and Monitoring, NERC, John Joseph, highlighted the leading cause of accidents during his presentation on the Health and Safety Performance of the NESI in 2022 and 2023.

“38 per cent of accidents in 2023 were caused by unsafe conditions. There are safety guidelines that should be followed but are jettisoned instead, leading to accidents,” he stated.

Related Topics:#TCN DISCOs Electricity National Grid

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Hope Rises As Ijaw Nation Wades Into Okomu Crisis

Published

8 hours ago

June 13, 2025

Editor

Photo: File copy

There seems to be solution at sight to the crisis bedeviling Okomu community in Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State following the setting up of Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee by prominent Ijaw monarchs drawn from Edo, Ondo, Delta and Bayelsa states.

The setting up of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee by the Ijaw kings followed a request by His Royal Majesty, Pius Yanbor, the Pere (king) of Okomu Kingdom to his Ijaw brothers peres (king), appealing to them to intervene in the crisis that had led to the burning of houses and loss of lives.

Worried by the crisis and the consequent appeal by HRM Pius Yanbor, the Ijaw peres (kings), namely, HRM, Oboro Gbaraun II, the Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom, Delta State; HRM, Zacheus Egbunu, the Agadagba of Arogbo Kingdom, Ondo State; HRM, Capt. Frank Okiakpe, the Pere of Gbaraun Kingdom, Bayelsa State; HRM, Joel Ibane, the Pere of Iduwini Kingdom, Delta State; HRM, Godwin Ogunoyibo, the Pere of Olodiama Kingdom, Edo State; HRM, Eseimokumor Ogonikara I, the Pere of Tubutoru Kingdom, Ondo State; HRM, Roman Bohan, the Pere of Furupagha Kingdom, Edo State, and HRM Stephen Ebikeme, the Pere of Oporomor Kingdom, Bayelsa State, in an acceptance memo of the Okomu king’s request which was made available to INFO DAILY stated: “We, the undersigned traditional rulers of Ijaw extraction, have unanimously aligned in agreement to take a deep dive into the crisis that has been rocking and bedeviling Okomu Kingdom for the past three years, with a view to providing respite and bringing lasting peace to the aforementioned kingdom.”

They continued: “This alignment however, is a fallout of a series of robust engagement amongst well-meaning and revered monarchs of Ijaw extraction, whose primary role in their various Kingdoms is to foster peace and unity.”

The Ijaw monarchs, thereafter, appointed Chief Sunday as the Chairman of the Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee, High Chief Pascal Akpofagha as the General Secretary and 16 other notable Ijaw sons from various kingdoms as members.

The 18-member committee is saddled with the responsibility of interfacing with the warring parties in the kingdom with a view to restoring lasting peace to the kingdom.

The revered Ijaw monarchs further expressed their commitment to providing the necessary support and work with the committee within the ambit of the law in order to ensure peace and harmony return to Okomu Kingdom.

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UN Flags 138 Million Kids In Global Child Labour Crisis

Published

11 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Editor

Ahead of World Day Against Child Labour, a report released on Wednesday by the International Labour Organisation and the United Nations Children’s Fund has shown that nearly 138 million children were engaged in child labour in 2024.

The figure included 54 million engaged in hazardous work that endangered their health, safety, and development.

“Today, nearly 138 million children are in child labour worldwide, down from 160 million four years ago.

“There are over 100 million fewer children in child labour today than in 2000, even as the child population increased by 230 million over the same period,” the report stated

World Day Against Child Labour is marked on June 12 every year and International Day of Play is marked on June 11.

The report revealed that while child labour had declined by more than 20 million since 2020, the world had missed its target of ending child labour by 2025.

It noted that since 2000, child labour had almost halved, yet current rates remained too slow.

To end child labour within the next five years, the report said the current rates of progress would need to be 11 times faster.

“While the elimination of child labour remains an unfinished task, there is some welcome news.

“After a concerning rise in child labour captured by the global estimates for 2020, a feared further deterioration in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has not materialised, and the world has succeeded in returning to a path of progress.

“This success can be attributed to some well-known policy imperatives that, if sustained and scaled-up, could bring about an end to child labour,” the report stated.

It highlighted that the policies included ensuring free and high-quality schooling to provide a worthwhile alternative to child labour and help ensure successful transitions from school to decent work.

Others were equipping education systems to support the school-to-work transition, particularly for older adolescents who face heightened occupational safety and health risks in the labour market; strengthening legal protections against child labour, aligned with international standards to lay the groundwork for effective prevention and enforcement, among others.

The report also said targeted policies to end child labour must go hand in hand with broader development strategies.

“And to be fully effective, child labour concerns must be systematically mainstreamed into economic and social policy planning – from macroeconomic frameworks to labour market reforms and sectoral strategies.

“The latest estimates underscore the magnitude of the challenge of ending child labour. They also point to progress, and in doing so, affirm the possibilities.

“We have the blueprint for success – the right policies, adequate resources and unwavering commitment. Now is the time to act to free future generations from child labour,” it added.

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Journalists’ Cooperative Society Announces Formal Take-off

Published

12 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Editor

The Innovative Media Partners Cooperative Multipurpose Society has announced its formal take-off.

The President of IMPCMS and Publisher of The Eagle Online, Dotun Oladipo, made the announcement in a statement issued on Wednesday.

According to Oladipo, the formal commencement of activities followed the completion of all registration formalities and opening of a bank account.

The statement added that this also followed the approval of the Executive Committee of the IMPCMS, which now has the full compliments of members.

Apart from Oladipo, other members of the Executive Committee include Ugomma Cookey, a member of the Board of the Media Career Development Network, as Vice President; Nkanu Egbe, Publisher of Lagos Metropolitan, as General Secretary; Ijeoma Popoola, Editor with the News Agency of Nigeria, Financial Secretary; and Dolapo Otegbayi, a prominent media and marketing consultant, as Treasurer.

The Ex-Officio Members are media trainer, Taiwo Obe; and Founder and Chief Executive Officer of WVL Development Advisers Limited and former Acting Managing Director/CEO of Bank of Industry, Dr. Waheed Olagunju.

To join the cooperative society, which is for practicing journalists and media professionals, would-be members are expected to fill a form, which can be obtained at the secretariat at 1, James Robertson Street, Surulere, Lagos.

For the electronic version of the form, the statement said a WhatsApp message can be sent to: 08023204836, or email to: nkanu.egbe@gmail.com.

The cost of membership was put at N10,000, which is payable into the cooperative society’s account with the United Bank for Africa: Innovative Media Partner Surulere Multipurpose Cooperative Society, with account number 1028258688.

Among the early financial members of the society are the President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors and Editor of Vanguard Newspaper, Eze Anaba; seasoned broadcaster, Anike-ade Funke Treasure; eminent journalist, Dr. Hope Orivri; Publishers of Oriental News, Chika Izuora and Yemisi Izuora; and Dayo Ojo.

All members of the Executive Committee of the IMPCMS have also become financial members.

The society was formed as a fallout of the Second Nigerian Media Leaders’ Summit held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, in 2024, and organised by The Journalism Clinic, founded by Obe.