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EKEDC Targets Uninterrupted Supply To Consumers

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Car park at Marina Central Business District, as workers resume after Easter holidays in Lagos, yesterday.

Car park at Marina Central Business District, as workers resume after Easter holidays in Lagos, yesterday.

The management of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) says they have put in place measures that would enable the company to provide 24 hours uninterrupted electricity supply to its consumers.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr Oladele Amoda,  announced this yesterday in Lagos during the company’s Customer Engagement Town Hall Meeting with electricity consumers from Ibeju-Lekki, Ajah, Igbo-Efon, Lekki Phase 1and 2.
Amoda said that the management had concluded plans to add more than170megawatts (MW) to the supply from the national grid.
He said that the company was receiving only 11 per cent or between 270 megawatts and 300 megawatts of electricity generated from the National grid.
“EKEDC requires 700 megawatts to give consumers in the zone uninterrupted power supply but out of which we are given between 270 MW and 300MW.
“This has resulted to erratic power supply to our numerous customers and led to series of protests in many communities.
“This has made the company to engage in embedded power generation projects, to fill in the lapses.
“We are almost through with three power generating plants who have agreed to supply the company with 170megawatts.
“We have entered into agreement with the Egbin Power Plant who will be supplying the company 100MW directly from their station.
“40MW will be received from the Ijora Power Plant and the remaining 30MW will come from Agara in Ogun State.
“Apart from this, we are at present negotiating with more than 40 companies to get more energy. My team is in Abuja to finalise arrangements with the companies.
“These companies will generate power and send to us and we will distribute to our customers,” he said.
Amoda, however, assured the consumers that the arrangement was almost completed, adding that they would soon start to enjoy between 20 hours and 22 hours of uninterrupted electricity supply.
“The new era has come with the change we are all clamouring for. I can assure you that the embedded power generation will boost the power supply greatly,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Amuda Oladele, a community leader from Ajah bemoaned the delays in repairing faults, especially explosion from high tension wires and transformers in the area.
He urged the company to find lasting solutions to numerous recorded explosions from high tension wires.
Mr Kingsley Osu, a resident of Harmony Estate in Lekki Phase 1 said that the N250,000 bill slammed on him by EKEDC was laughable.
According to him, the bill is outrageous becuase nobody used electricity in the house during the six months he travelled abroad.
Osu also appealed to EKEDC to adjust the bill.
In his contribution, Mr Godwin Idemudia, Assistant General Manager (Public Affairs) of EKEDC commended consumers in the area for their understanding.
He said that the town hall meeting was introduced by the management of EKEDC to listen to electricity consumers and find ways to alleviate their problems.
According to Idemudia, the meeting would now hold on a quarterly basis.

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Boat Mishap Kills Pastor, Wife And Church Members  In Brass Water

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A boat accident in Bayelsa state has killed a serving Pastor, Wife and other church members along Brass waterways
The sad incident happened at Odioama in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State when the Pastor, wife and  members of his church were in a programme.
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?Tide confirmed that the lifeless body of the Pastor’s wife has been found and deposited in a mortuary while the remains of her husband ,the Pastor is yet  to be recovered
as search party are still ongoing.
Although the real cause of the boat Mishap is not yet known as at the time of this report,  our Correspondent gathered  that the identities of the Pastor, wife and church members were not disclosed to the public.
The mishap, Tide gathered occurred on Friday morning when the church members were on a boat transit
The Bayelsa State government and the state police command are yet to issue official statement’s  on the sad accident
By: CHINEDU WOSU
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Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

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The Rivers State Council of  Nigeria Civil Service Union has called on the State Government to urgently scrap the contributory pension scheme, describing it as unfavourable to long-serving civil servants in the state.
Chairman of the union, Chukwuka Osuma, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt,  recently.
Osuma said the current pension structure has continued to worsen post-retirement hardship for workers.
He noted that  the contributory pension scheme had failed to provide adequate retirement security for workers who had spent many years in service, especially those approaching retirement age.
According to him, civil servants who had served for more than 20 years were among the worst affected under the scheme, insisting that many retirees could no longer cope with prevailing economic realities.
He also  informed that the Union has made moves to showcase their concerns, pleading with Governor Siminalayi Fubara to abolish the pension policy and introduce a more favourable arrangement for affected workers.
“The union was not opposed to pension reforms, the contributory scheme should only apply to newly employed workers or those with fewer years in service”, he said.
Osuma explained that workers who had already spent decades in the civil service ought to remain under a more secure pension structure capable of guaranteeing stability after retirement.
The labour leader further noted that inflation and the rising cost of living had continued to erode the value of retirement savings, thereby increasing the suffering of pensioners across the country.
He also appealed to the state government to consider extending the years of service in the civil service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.
Osuma argued that such adjustment had become necessary in view of present-day economic realities and changing conditions in the workplace.
The unionist also reviewed that similar policies had already been adopted in some sectors and jurisdictions, expressing optimism that the State could also implement the reforms for the benefit of workers.
He however, commended Governor Fubara for approving an N85,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, noting that the amount was above the national benchmark of N70,000.
Osuma also acknowledged the government’s efforts in the area of workers’ promotions and bonuses, but insisted that pension reforms and extension of years of service remained critical to the long-term welfare and stability of civil servants in Rivers State.
By: King Onunwor
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FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

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The Federal Government has launched the South-West zonal engagement and ministerial advocacy tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria share capital mobilisation, sensitisation and cooperative sector digitalisation.
 Reports say the initiative was launched through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
According to reports, the advocacy tour, organised by the ministry’s Federal Department of Cooperatives, began on Monday in Lagos.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Abdullahi described the exercise as a strategic effort to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity.
“Today represents a defining moment in our collective determination to reposition the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity,” he said.
The minister noted  the modern cooperative movement in Nigeria originated in the South-West following the 1934 Strickland Report, which led to the enactment of the Cooperative Societies Ordinance of 1935.
According to him, the decision to commence the sensitisation and share capital mobilisation tour in the region is symbolic, as it marks a return to the roots of cooperative development in the country.
Abdullahi said the advocacy tour was a direct outcome of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja in March 2026.
He said the council approved the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, a comprehensive framework designed to strengthen the cooperative sector and align it with the administration’s goal of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.
“The reform programme focuses on seven strategic pillars, including governance reforms, cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, digitalisation, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youths, women and persons with disabilities, and strategic partnerships,” he said.
He said the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the digitalisation of the cooperative sector were the two major transformational initiatives under the programme.
“The Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is aimed at rebuilding a strong cooperative financial system capable of supporting cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youths, women and persons with disabilities with accessible and affordable financial services,” he said.
Abdullahi emphasised that the proposed bank would be government-enabled but not government-funded.
“Government is not establishing the bank as an owner, nor will it rely on Treasury Single Account funds.
“The role of government through the FMAFS is to provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, regulatory facilitation and an enabling environment under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” he said.
Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to cooperative sector transformation.
She described cooperatives as critical tools for promoting inclusive growth, grassroots productivity, food security, financial inclusion and community wealth creation.
Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos State would continue to support reforms and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (2025–2030).
“Together, let us build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, transparent, digitally enabled, financially inclusive and globally competitive.
“Let us build cooperatives that not only mobilise savings, but also mobilise prosperity,” she said.
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