Business
Strive To Install Pre-Paid Meters, Conssumers Urge DISCOs
Electricity consumers in the South-East have urged electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) to strive to install pre-paid meters to all consumers to check over-billing and estimated billing that cause disagreements.
The consumers made the call yesterday in Enugu at a forum of the House of Representatives ad hoc committee to curb excessive electricity charges being levied on consumers by Distribution Companies (DISCOs).
An electricity consumer from Akwa, Mrs Eunice Nwoye, said that estimated billing made it difficult for artisans to make profit because it was high and not commensurate with the energy consumed.
“It is unbearable for someone operating a salon to pay as much as N5,000 when you hardly get uninterrupted supply each day.
“I believe if functional pre-paid meters are installed, it is definite you only pay for what you use,” Nwoye said.
Another consumer from Ogbete area in Enugu, Mr Chidi Madu, complained about inconsistencies in the estimated bills for his flat.
“My estimated bills have continued to increase from N6,000 to N8,000 and now N10,000.”
Madu noted that only pre-paid meter compliance would ensure that Nigerians stopped paying for what they did not consume.
However, some of the customers lauded the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) for the current expansion of its network.
They commended the EEDC for improving the rate of servicing and revitalization of malfunctioning electricity installations and lines.
The Manager of Aqua Ralph Nigeria Limited, 9th Mile, Mr Joseph Olorutobi, thanked the EEDC for fixing electrical faults within record time.
“Apart from the recent dispatch with which EEDC attends to electrical faults and breakdowns, it also finished the network expansion of lines with the 9th Mile Corner axis within some days,” Olorutobi said.
He, however, appealed to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to provide more electricity supply to zone, especially as the population and industrial activities in Enugu had been expanding rapidly.
An artisan in Ogui Road in Enugu, Mr Chimezie Okechukwu, said the recent installation of pre-paid meters in their premises had reduced the money they spent on electricity.
Okechukwu noted that the bill had continued to drop from N8,000 to N4,500 since they used the light only during business hours.
In his address at the forum, Mr Abdulkadir Shettima, the Deputy General Manager, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), said the commission had put in place regulations to safeguard the rights and privileges of consumers.
Shettima noted that NERC had opened offices in virtually all states in the country to entertain the complaints of consumers and ensure that they were resolved.
Earlier, the Chairman of the committee, Mr Israel Famurewa, said the committee would aggregate consumers’ views on the challenges they faced and write a report formally to the House of Representatives.
“As a people, we must deliberate and come together at the local level as well as the House level to find lasting solutions to the issues and challenges bedevilling electricity supply in the country”, he said.
“At the end of the day, it entails fashioning out new laws or amending the existing ones; we will do it for the betterment of our people,” Famurewa said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that hundreds of electricity customers from the zone attended the forum where most of their questions were answered.
Business
Food Vendors, Others Relocate To New Site At PH Airport
The raging controversy between the Port Harcourt International Airport Management and restaurants/canteen operators and theirallies over relocation has been brought under control, as the operators have commenced relocation to their structures at the new site.
Recall that there had been serious feud over a directive by the Manager of the airport, Mr. Michael Area, for food vendors and their allies to relocate to the new site.
They insisted that the new site was too distant and hence, would negatively affect patronage from customers, with possible loss.
They further also insisted that it wouldcost them much money to put up another structure, given the economic situation in the country, since the airport management did not build any structure for them, apart from providing the empty land they have to also pay for.
The situation had led to flexing of muscles, which made the Airport Manager to order for sealing of all shops, resulting in scarcity of food, as airport users could not find a place to eat, apart from the only Genesis fast food spot available.
As at last Friday, The Tide observed that most of the food vendors had transferred their structures to the new place, and had started doing business there already.
Meanwhile, customers have started settling down at the new location as they were seen patronising shops for foods and drinks, in spite of the distance.
Few of the remaining structures at the old site, The Tide further gathered, will also be removed as quickly as possible, and the owners are making efforts to get funds for the job to be done.
One of them, Mrs Aka Love explained that she was going to relocate to the new place before the end of March.
Currently, business activities at the old site have come to null, as the place which was usually a beehive of food, drinks and relaxation, has completely winded down.
By: Corlins Walter
Business
MOWCA Strengthens Maritime Crime Prevention
Secretary General of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), Dr. Paul Adalikwu, has stepped up interaction with the United States Government to lift restrictions placed on some member countries allegedly implicated in illicit shipping activities.
Adalikwu, who led a delegation from the MOWCA Secretariat to the US Embassy in Abidjan for a first leg of the strategic consultation aimed at promoting seamless participation of MOWCA countries in international trade within the global maritime space, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to the best ethical and lawful maritime practices.
Addressing the U.S Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, H.E Mrs Jessica Davis Ba, the MOWCA SG stated the organisation’s interest in promoting the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) code which aims at enhancing security of vessels and their ports of call.
He expressed the commitment of MOWCA in promoting environmentally friendly, safe and cost effective shipping without any encumbrance that may limit the economic potential of member countries.
Dr Adalikwu recalled that at the instance of the U.S. Department of State invitation, MOWCA participated in the 2023 Registry Information Sharing Compact (RISC) Conference in Larnaca, Cyprus, on February 28–March 1, 2023, and a virtual meeting held on June 6 2023, with Mrs Jennifer Chalmers, Officer in change of Counterproliferation Initiative.
He recalled The U.S. DOS willingness to support MOWCA’s effort for preventive maritime security through the establishment of the Center for Information and Communication (CINFOCOM) with the aim to ensure a maritime situational awareness domain within MOWCA’s member states’ waters.
He added that MOWCA under his watch is committed to training and retraining of maritime practitioners and experts to enhance the human capital capabilities of member states.
The CINFOCOM will help prevent transnational crimes committed at sea like sanctions evasion by North Korea and other state actors, who exploit poor enforcement due diligence by ship open registries to circumvent United Nations and U.S. trade restrictions.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
Business
Nigeria’s Public Debt Hits N97.3trn – DMO
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has hinted that Nigeria’s public debt increased by 10.7 per cent from N87.87 trillion in the third quarter of last year, to N97.34 trillion as at December 31, 2023.
DMO, in an update data released last Friday, said the increase in the debt stock was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the Federal Government to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
The office noted that the N97.3 trillion public debt comprises of domestic debt of N59.12 trillion and external debt of N38.22 trillion. The sum of $3.5 billion was used to service external debt during the review period.
“Nigeria’s Public Debt Stock as at December 31, 2023 was N97.34trillion or $108.229 billion. This amount comprises the domestic and external debt stocks of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the 36 States Governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“There was an increase of N9.43 trillion over the comparative figure for September, 2023, which was largely due to new domestic borrowing by the FGN to part finance the deficit in the 2024 Appropriation Act and disbursements by multilateral and bilateral lenders.
“At N59.12 trillion, total domestic debt accounted for 61 percent of the total public debt stock, while external debt at N38.22 trillion accounted for the balance of 39 percent.
“Consistent with the debt management strategy, Nigeria’s external debt stock was skewed in favour of loans from multilateral (49.77 percent) and bilateral lenders (14.02 percent) or total of 63.79 percent which are mostly concessional and semi-concessional.
“Whilst the DMO continues to employ best practice in public debt management, the recent and on-going efforts of the fiscal authorities to shore up revenue will support debt sustainability”, DMO stated.
By: Corlins Walter
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