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Prepare for Increase in Electricity Tariff, Nigerians Told
Nigerians should be prepared to pay cost-reflective electricity tariffs in order to enjoy the benefits of the liberalisation of the power sector, the government-owned Transmission Company of Nigeria has said.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, TCN, Mr Usman Mohammed, who said this on Thursday, noted that the government had continued to pump money into the power sector despite privatising it more than six years ago.
Mohammed spoke in Lagos during the groundbreaking for the replacement of old wires on the Ikeja West-Alimosho-Ogba-Alausa-Ota transmission lines.
He said when completed, the project would allow Ikeja Electric to take the full capacity of all the transformers along the substations to be supplied by the lines.
He said, “We are working to transform the TCN to be one of the best transmission companies in the world. But I want to tell the Nigerian public that we cannot move forward if we don’t pay for electricity.
“I want to tell Nigerians that there is no relationship between poverty and payment for electricity.”
According to the TCN boss, Nigeria has the cheapest electricity tariff in West Africa.
He said the government had sunk N1.5tn into the power sector in terms of payment assurance guarantee for power generation.
Mohammed said, “We have to stop this government intervention and we can only stop it when contracts become effective. Contracts can only be effective when you have cost-reflective tariffs.”
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission in its December 2019 Minor Review of Multi Year Tariff Order 2015 and Minimum Remittance Order for the Year 2020 for the 11 Discos, had said on January 4 that consumers would start to pay more for electricity from April 1, 2020.
The Punch
The Super Eagles of Nigeria defeated Egypt 4-2 on penalties to win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 third-place playoff on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali proved the hero of the night with two crucial saves during the shootout, including one from Egyptian star Mohamed Salah.
Ademola Lookman then calmly converted the decisive penalty to secure the bronze medal —Nigeria’s ninth third-place finish in AFCON history.
With neither side able to break the deadlock in a cagey second half, the game ended 0-0, sending the contest directly to penalties.
Despite Fisayo Dele-Bashiru missing Nigeria’s first kick, Nwabali’s immediate saved from Egypt’s first two attempts shifted the momentum.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of the son of a former Jigawa State governor, challenging the decision of the trial court, which convicted him for failing to declare $40,000 at Kano airport.
In a unanimous decision, the apex court panel dismissed the appeal of Aminu Sule Lamido, the son of former governor Sule Lamido, for lack of merit.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Aminu on December 11, 2012, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while preparing to travel to Cairo, Egypt.
The prosecution said Aminu declared $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), but was found with an additional $40,000, which was not disclosed on his currency declaration form.
The EFCC charged him before the Federal High Court in Kano on a one-count offence of false declaration of foreign currency, contrary to provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
On July 12, 2015, the court convicted Aminu and ordered him to forfeit 25 per cent of the undeclared sum to the Federal government.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Aminu approached the Court of Appeal in Kaduna to overturn the conviction and set aside the forfeiture order.
In a judgment delivered on December 7, 2015, however, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has ordered that the trial of former governor Lamido, his two sons, and others, over alleged N1.35billion fraud, should continue before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
A five-member panel of the apex court issued the directive in two unanimous judgments, in the two appeals filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the trial court, which dismissed the no-case submission filed by the Lamidos and held that the defendants had a case to answer.
Both appeals were against the July 25, 2023, judgments of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which upheld the no-case submission made by Lamido and others and struck out the 37-count charge on which they were being prosecuted, on the grounds that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.
In the lead judgments of the Supreme Court, Justice Abubakar Umar set aside the July 25, 2023 judgments of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the earlier decision by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which overruled the no-case submissions by Lamido and others and ordered them to enter their defence.
The EFCC, in the 37-count charge, among others, accused Lamido of abusing his position as a governor between 2007 and 2015, allegedly laundering sums of money received as kickbacks from companies that were awarded contracts by the Jigawa State Government under his leadership.
The other defendants charged alongside Lamido are his two sons – Aminu and Mustapha; Aminu Wada Abubakar and their companies – Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd.
