Author: oduduwanews

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu Monday warned that there would be total blackout in the country in the next three months if the proposed electricity tariff hike is not implemented.

The minister disclosed this yesterday in Abuja when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Power at an investigative hearing over the recent electricity tariff hike by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

Adelabu said, “The entire sector will be grounded if we don’t increase the tariff. With what we have now in the next three months, the entire country will be in darkness if we don’t increase tariffs.

“The increment will catapult us to the next level. We are also Nigerians, we are also feeling the impact.”

He said the sum of $10 billion is needed yearly for the next ten years to revive the nation’s power sector and nip in the bud the challenges bedeviling it.

“For this sector to be revived, the government needs to spend nothing less than 10 billion dollars annually in the next 10 years.

“This is because of the infrastructure requirement for the stability of the sector. But the government cannot afford that. And so we must make this sector attractive to investors and to lenders.

“So, for us to attract investors and investment, we must make the sector attractive, and the only way it can be made attractive is that there must be commercial pricing.

“If the value is still at N66 and the government is not paying subsidy, the investors will not come. But now that we have increased the tariff for A Band, there are interests being shown by investors,” he said.

Adelabu said the inability of the government to pay outstanding N2.9 trillion subsidy was due to limited resources, hence the need to evolve measures to sustain the sector.

He appealed to the lawmakers to support the process of paying the debt owed operators across the value chain of generation, transmission and distribution.

But the Senate Committee on Power, led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, expressed concerns over the suffering of Nigerians, and asked the minister and other key players in the sector to explore other options.

Senators Simon Lalong (Plateau South) and Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), said consultations were not made before the tariff increase, stressing palliative would have been provided in the process.

Abaribe, who is Chairman of the Committee said, “What Nigerians wanted was a solution to the issues and ways to ensure liquidity in the sector.”

He also decried the nonappearance of a company “ZIGLAKS” over the failed agreement to provide prepaid meters for Nigerians, alleging that the company had received N32 billion in 20 years to meter Nigerian electricity consumers.

Other stakeholders who made presentations at the investigative hearing were the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (NAN), Association of Power Generation (Gencos), Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) among others.

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB has released results for the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME.

Recall that over 1.94 million candidates registered and sat the examination in 118 towns and over 700 centres across the country.

Mr Oloyede, however, said the examination body had withheld the results of 64,624 candidates for possible infractions. He said the board was investigating the withheld results.

Mr Oloyede, said: “Out of a total of 1,989,668 registered candidates, 80,810 were absent. A total of 1,904,189 sat the UTME within the six days of the examination…”.

He said the results of total of 1,842,464 candidates have been released.

The registrar further noted that 8,401, representing 0.5 per cent of candidates, scored 300 and above in the examination. The maximum score obtainable in the UTME is 400.

He said 77,070, representing 4.2 per cent, scored 250 and above and that 439,974, representing 24 per cent, scored 200 and above.

These candidates can start checking their results from 7am tomorrow, April 30th, 2024. To check your result, simply send “RESULT” as SMS from the phone number used for JAMB registration to 55019 or 66019. You are required to have a least N50 airtime credit balance.

The State Government of Ogun State has initiated the evacuation of structures affected by the recent gas explosion in Ita-Oshin, Abeokuta North Local Government area, to facilitate integrity tests.

During the assessment, the State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun assured affected individuals of compensation for property damage and medical expenses incurred.

Expressing concerns about the safety of nationwide compressed natural gas (CNG) transportation, he underscored the importance of regulatory oversight and adherence to industry standards to ensure safe transportation.

To address safety issues related to petroleum product transportation, he tasked the relevant agencies to ensure the roadworthiness of vehicles. Additionally, he said a meeting with the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association has been arranged to devise effective safety solutions as the State is committed to enacting legislation and regulatory measures in preventing future incidents and safeguarding residents.

The Igbojaye-born Prince, Kolawole Akinyode has been elected the President of the Yoruba American Community.

Prince Kolawole Akinyode, an indigene of Igbojaye, Itesiwaju Local Government of Oyo State and also an alumnus of Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), was elected to lead as President of Yoruba American Community.

The statement of his recent election as President was made available to Oduduwa News by the Coordinator of his Foundation, Festus Opeyemi Adekola.

He is the Convener of Mathew and Alice Asake Akinyode Foundation (M& AAAF), Igbojaye. The foundation gives financial assistance to students, artisans and palliatives to less privileged.

Yoruba Community in American is a socio-cultural group of people of Southwest origin of Nigeria living in United States

His dedication, leadership qualities, and commitment to excellence make him a befitting choice for the prestigious position.

As President, Prince Kolawole Akinyode will bring his wealth of experience, vision, and passion to drive the mission and objectives of the community forward.

The Lagos State Government has finalized preparations to prosecute five individuals arrested for assaulting LASTMA personnel during an enforcement operation in the Oba Akran Avenue area of Ikeja, Lagos.

Mr. Adebayo Taofiq, Director of Public Affairs and Enlightenment at LASTMA, confirmed that on April 23, 2024, LASTMA operatives conducted an operation to remove illegally parked Viju Milk trucks on Oba Akran Avenue in response to numerous complaints from the public about the trucks causing traffic congestion.

During the operation, four LASTMA officers sustained serious injuries from weapons wielded by Viju Milk truck drivers and local miscreants.

“While Lastma operational vehicles were vandalized, 54 Viju Milk truck were evacuated by Lastma during the enforcement operations”

The police, working alongside LASTMA, arrested five of these individuals (Falomo Oluwafemi, Afeniyi Stephen, Olamide Adekunle, Chukwu Guaja Eze and Adeshina Sulaimon) seized various weapons including broken bottles, iron rods, charms, knives, and cutlasses.

The injured LASTMA officers were promptly taken to the hospital for medical attention.

Hon. Sola Giwa, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, stated that the arrested individuals would be prosecuted by the government as a deterrent to others.