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FCCPC petitioned over DisCos’ failure to replace obsolete meters
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A customer of the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, Associate Professor Tunde Akanni, has written a petition to the vice chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission over the utility company’s alleged failure to replace his obsolete prepaid meter.
In the petition titled, ‘SOS On Massive Extortion of Customers by Ikeja Electric Distribution Company,’ Akanni sought the urgent intervention of the FCCPC.
According to him, the IKEDC recently deactivated his Unistar meter despite an order by the FCCPC that the meter should not be deactivated by any DisCo.
“As the sole supplier of electricity in Ikeja, where I live in government quarters, IKEDC recently began to deactivate the Unistar prepaid meters serving residents of LASG quarters at 47, Sobo Arobiodu Street, Ikeja GRA. The deactivation continued after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, warned IKEDC against activities on the Unistar meters.
“What they do is await the exhaustion of the running credits on meters, allow customers to recharge their cards, but ensure they are not able to reload. Once this happens and you report back with your complaints, they would tell you that your meter is bad and due for replacement and that they have new meters in abundance. They would convince you to allow the retrieval of the Unistar meter,” he explained.
The don alleged customers were compelled to get reconnected and moved into estimated billing that pushed monthly energy costs from N50,000 to N270,000. This was even as he was asked to pay N120,000 for a new meter.
He stated, “Once the customer begins to feel that his hope is merely hanging, the customers would be compelled to make desperate requests for reconnection, and they would deceitfully reconnect you, but that would make customers pay through their nose. In the past, customers like me whose monthly consumption hardly exceeded N50,000 following the banding regime had been summarily billed as much as N270,000. Fellow residents of government quarters have had to complain to me about their helplessness and their dramatic bankruptcy on account of this arbitrary billing.
“In my own case specifically, my meter was retrieved on December 27, 2024, after recharging with N25,000 but failing to reload following their treacherous deactivation. Against my stated position that I was aware of the FCCPC directive to them, they insisted that I should immediately apply online for a new meter, reiterating that they had new meters in abundance but that I would have to pay N120,000. For fear of wasting all the foods stocked up in the house and to also avoid being slapped with any humongous arbitrary bill, I went to their office to follow up. The response from their customer care operatives at the Ikeja office was that their portal was down, implying that all processes of new meter application had been stalled and therefore arbitrary billing would continue for as long as the portal was down.
“I, therefore, seek your immediate intervention from the shenanigan of IKEDC to stall their onslaught against lawful customers. If they have the effrontery to subject LASG employees living in government quarters to this embarrassing situation, one can imagine what helpless private citizens are being subjected to by IKEDC.”
Officials of the IKEDC were contacted for their reactions to the allegations raised by the customer.
However, they have yet to reply to messages sent to them by our correspondent.
An official, who did not want to be mentioned, said the Unistar meters have always been an issue, saying that was why the company planned to phase out the meters in November before it was stopped by the FCCPC.
Meanwhile, our correspondent recalled that some meters were phased out following their inability to be updated as of November 2024.
The PUNCH reports that about three million customers might be forced into the estimated billing system as the users would no longer be able to buy energy credits.
But the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission ordered that obsolete meters be replaced at no cost to customers and no one should be forced into estimated billing.
News
PFIPC scandal: ‘I borrowed N400 million to secure the appointment’ – Adeyemi Adeniyi
The self-acclaimed Director-General of the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, Adeyemi Adeniyi, says he borrowed the N400 million to secured the job at the presidency.
Adeniyi made this revelation on Monday during zoom interview on ‘Politics Today’, a programme on Channels Television.
He said his creditors have reported him to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
He described the way some actors in government taking the matter as ‘unfortunate and embarrassing’, asking how only him could manoeuvre the entire Federal Government system.
“I borrowed this money, the N400 million, to pay for this appointment. In fact, those that I borrowed the money from have reported me to the EFCC to refund it,” he said.
When asked to react to the report that there is a United States lobbying firm helping him to seek an asylum, Adeniyi said, “I read it the way you read it.”
News
May 18 primaries has come to a close, I appeal to all my people to support all APC candidates -Ize-Iyamu
Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu has beckoned on all his loyalists to support All Progressives Congress APC candidates after the party formally endorsed all Edo State candidates.
This was contained in a statement he personally signed encouraging his loyalists in Edo South to throw their weights behind all APC candidates.
Hear him:
“Following wide-ranging consultations with our leaders, party members, supporters, women, youths, and well-wishers across Edo South, Nigeria, and the diaspora, I address you today(Monday ) with profound gratitude, humility, and an unwavering commitment to the unity and progress of our great party.
“The APC Edo South Senatorial Primary held on May 18, 2026 has come to a close. Our party has completed its democratic process, and a candidate has emerged. I accept the decision of our party in good faith and appeal to all our members, followers and friends to do same.
“The All Progressives Congress is greater than any individual ambition. It is a platform built on service, sacrifice, discipline, and our shared commitment to a better future for our people. Political contests may test our preferences, but they must never diminish our common purpose.
To every supporter, coordinator, volunteer, grassroots mobiliser, and everyone who stood with us throughout this journey, I offer my heartfelt appreciation. Your loyalty, sacrifices, encouragement, and prayers have been a constant source of strength. I remain deeply grateful for your confidence and steadfast support.
I wish to specially thank our brothers and sisters in the diaspora across party lines for the overwhelming support they gave my senatorial bid and assure them of my continous commitment to the development and progress of our district. I urge every one of you to remain peaceful, reject division, and continue to uphold the values that have always defined our people.
Now is the time to reconcile, close ranks, and focus on the greater task before us. Our collective responsibility to serve the people of Edo South is far greater than any individual aspiration. As we move forward, I remain committed to working with our leaders, stakeholders, and party faithfuls to strengthen the APC, secure victory in the general election, and advance the development and well-being of Edo South Senatorial District.
The contest is behind us. The future is before us. Let us move forward with one resolve, and one commitment- to build a stronger APC and a more prosperous Edo South.
Thank you for your prayers, your loyalty, and your unwavering support throughout this journey.
History will not remember the contest we fought; it will remember the future we built together. Let us unite. Let us serve. Let us win for the APC, for Edo South and for the people of Edo State.
God bless the All Progressives Congress. God bless Edo South Senatorial District. God bless Edo State.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Oba gha to kpere, ise
News
Senate investigates N34tn Duty Waivers, Threatens Sanctions for Defaulting Agencies
The Senate Committee on Finance has opened a fresh scrutiny of the Federal Government’s import duty waiver regime after the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) disclosed that the value of Import Duty Exemption Certificates (IDECs) issued since March 2020 rose to about ₦34 trillion by 2025.
The committee also threatened sanctions against the heads of several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi, for failing to appear before its investigative hearing on revenue remittances.
Appearing before the committee on Monday, Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, said the agency’s revenue performance had been significantly influenced by government fiscal policies, particularly import duty exemptions granted to strategic sectors.
He explained that about 60 per cent of the ₦34 trillion worth of duty waivers covered military hardware imported to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture, while the remaining exemptions applied to imports of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, medical equipment, industrial machinery, manufacturing inputs and food items under government intervention programmes.
Adeniyi maintained that duty waivers should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue forgone, arguing that they were intended to promote broader economic and social objectives, including industrial growth, improved healthcare delivery and national security.
He, however, recommended stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of the incentives deliver the expected outcomes through increased production, lower prices and wider economic benefits.
The Customs boss also told lawmakers that the Service had generated about ₦4.5 trillion as of June 30, 2026, against an annual revenue target of ₦11.04 trillion.
However, the hearing exposed disagreements over Customs’ financial obligations after the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) alleged that the agency had an outstanding operating surplus liability of about ₦8.9 billion based on its 2019 audited accounts.
Customs officials rejected the claim, insisting that the figures required reconciliation.
The committee also turned its attention to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) after the Fiscal Responsibility Commission alleged that the agency had failed to remit about ₦13.9 billion in operating surplus between 2023 and 2025.
Responding, the Registrar-General of the CAC, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, acknowledged the outstanding liability but said the Commission had commenced gradual settlement of the amount.
To establish the actual figure, Chairman of the committee, Senator Sani Musa, directed the CAC, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and the committee’s secretariat to reconcile their records and submit a comprehensive report within two weeks.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several invited agencies from the investigative hearing.
Senator Musa warned that the heads of the NCAA, SMEDAN, ITF, FMC Jabi and other defaulting agencies must appear at the next sitting or face sanctions under the Senate Standing Rules.
He stressed that agencies responsible for managing public resources have a constitutional obligation to account for revenues generated on behalf of the Federal Government and comply with legislative oversight.
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