Connect with us

News

Drama as Band A customers request downward review of high tariff

Published

on

By Francesca Hangeior

Many electricity consumers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Band A, have appealed to the Federal Government to lower the high tariff amid the economic hardship.

Reports have it that Band A customers are those who enjoy at least 20 hours of electricity daily and are expected to pay N209.5/kilowatts per hour (KWh).

The consumers who live at Lugbe, Area 10, Apo resettlement area, and environs spoke with NAN in Abuja on Sunday.

Advertisement

They said that Band A was okay because they enjoy constant power supply but added that the tariff was too high and so could not cope with the present situation.

Mrs Amen Odigie, a civil servant residing in Lugbe, said that she found herself paying so much to enjoy power supply, which was okay.

Odigie said that what she paid for electricity in the two-bedroom flat she occupied was more than N30,000 in a month.

“This is really telling on me, as what I earn as salary cannot go anywhere with the present economic hardship in the country.

Advertisement

”I want to appeal to the government to review the high electricity tariff as this Band A is taking most of my income, ” she said.

Mr Ugochukwu Okafor, also residing in Lugbe, said that the electricity tariff for Band A customers was too high.

Okafor, a Vulcaniser, said that his income in a month could not pay for the Band A tariff.

According to him, he wants the Federal Government to do something about the Band A tariff, as it is too high, in view of the present hardship in the country.

Advertisement

Mrs Anita Adaje, a fashion designer residing in Apo resettlement, said that she used electricity a lot to run her business, and with this Band A tariff, she was not making any profit.

”When you bill customers so high, they will refuse to pay, and this is really affecting my business.

”My appeal is that government should look into this high tariff and do something about it,” she said.

Mr Festus Ogunbor, a printer in Area 10, said that he recharged more than N30,000 daily to run his printing machines.

Advertisement

Ogunbor said that the high cost of electricity was affecting his business as he could no longer do much work.

”How much do I make that I have to be paying so much for electricity? Please, I want the government to look into this high tariff as it is seriously affecting businesses and cost of living,” he said.

Mr Chidi Okeke, also a printer in Area 10, said that he had been finding it difficult to power his printing machines because of high electricity tariff.

Okeke said that the government should look for a way of reducing the high cost of electricity to boost businesses as well as encourage more Nigerians to go into business.

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

Kenya: Lion kills 14-year-old girl, elephant kills man in separate incidents

Published

on

By

A lion killed a 14-year-old girl outside Kenya’s capital Nairobi while an elephant killed a 54-year-old man in the central part of the country, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said this weekend.

The attack on the girl occurred on Saturday in a ranch to the south of Nairobi National Park.

The attack was witnessed by another teenager, who raised the alarm, the KWS said in a statement.

“KWS rangers and response teams were swiftly mobilized and traced bloodstains leading to the Mbagathi River, where the girl’s body was recovered with injuries on the lower back,” the conservation agency said in a statement.

Advertisement

“The lion was not sighted at the scene,” it added.

It said a trap had been set for the lion and teams deployed to comb the area, along with additional safety measures.

The KWS said a 54-year-old man had also been killed by an elephant in Kenya’s Nyeri County on Friday. The agency gave no further details about that incident.

“KWS conveys its heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and continues to work closely with local law enforcement and communities to enhance the safety of people living near protected wildlife areas,” it said in the statement.

Advertisement

It called for more investment in “human-wildlife conflict mitigation”, including early warning systems and greater collaboration with affected communities.

In a statement to the BBC Paula Kahumbu, head of the WildlifeDirect conservation group, urged Kenya Wildlife Service to improve “risk assessments and ensure accurate, real-time communication of wildlife movement and behavior, especially in known high-risk areas such as Savannah Ranch,” where the girl was killed.

Last year, police in Kenya recovered the body of a man believed to have been attacked by a lion while he was riding a motorcycle near a national reserve in the south of the country.

The lion population was declining in Kenya just over a decade ago, primarily due to human-wildlife conflict. The government listed lions as endangered, with an estimated population of 2,000 in 2010. A more recent survey put the number at 2,489.

Advertisement

In 2023, 11 lions were speared to death in just one week — including one of Kenya’s oldest wild lions — by herders after the big cats killed their livestock.

Last year, the BBC reported CCTV footage captured the moment a lion snatched a Rottweiler dog from another home near Nairobi National Park

Continue Reading

News

Celebrity boxing: Speed Darlington wants rematch after losing to Portable

Published

on

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Nigerian singer Speed Darlington is calling for a rematch against Portable after losing to him in a celebrity boxing match.

Speed Darlington was knocked out in the second round, and he’s unhappy about the outcome.

In a video, he claimed Portable didn’t deserve the win and the prize money, saying he had plans to use the money to build a swimming pool for his community in Imo State.

Advertisement

Portable, I want a rematch. E dey pain me say you dey carry all that money dey go. E dey break my heart.

” I want a rematch. It’s so unfair. You have up to two experience before me and you fight. I never enter ring before. I did not come from poverty,” he said.

“You don’t deserve that money. E dey pain me. I want to build swimming pool for my villagers. I need a rematch, Portable”, he said.

According to Speed Darlington, Portable had an unfair advantage due to his experience, accusing him of using supernatural means to win the fight.

Advertisement

He also claimed he suffered a shoulder injury during the match despite not feeling tired.

Speed Darlington, who wants a rematch, said he needs 30 days to prepare better

Continue Reading

News

Israel’s remote controlled bulldozers breaking ground in Gaza war

Published

on

By

At first glance, there is nothing unusual about the bulky bulldozer turning up soil at a testing site in central Israel, but as it pulled closer it became clear: the driver’s cabin is eerily empty.

This is the Robdozer, a fortified engineering vehicle manned remotely, and in this case operated from a military expo halfway across the globe in Alabama.

Army engineers and military experts say that the Robdozer — the robotic version of Caterpillar’s D9 bulldozer — is the future of automated combat.

The Israeli military has used D9 for years to carry out frontline tasks like trowelling roads for advancing troops, removing rubble and flattening terrain.

Advertisement

But since war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 and later in Lebanon, the Israeli military has increasingly deployed this robotic version in a bid to enhance its field operations and reduce the risks to its troops.

“The idea is to eliminate the person from the cockpit of the dozer,” said Rani, whose team at the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries developed the Robdozer.

An unmanned D9 bulldozer digs up a field during a demonstration to the press at the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) quarters near Tel Aviv on March 26, 2025. Israel’s increasing use of advanced technology on the battlefield, from air defence systems to a broad range of AI-driven intelligence tools, has been well-documented but also criticised for inaccuracies, lack of human oversight and potential violations of international law. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP)

During the Gaza war, the military has increasingly opted for the unmanned version, which can carry out a full range of tasks “even better than a human”, said Rani, using his first name only for security reasons.

Advertisement

While such vehicles and other systems are currently operated by humans, future versions could be autonomous, raising ethical and legal concerns over the unchartered future of warfare being shaped by the Israeli military in the Gaza war.

‘Changing the paradigm’
Israel’s increasing use of advanced technology on the battlefield, from air defence systems to a broad range of AI-driven intelligence tools, has been well-documented but also criticised for inaccuracies, lack of human oversight and potential violations of international law.

Analysts say the growing Israeli deployment of the Robdozer reflects broader global trends towards automation in heavy combat vehicles, like remote-controlled personnel carriers that operate much like drones.

An Israeli military official, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, told AFP that the army has been using “robotic tools for over a decade, but in very small numbers. Now it is being used in large-scale warfare”.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Naija Blitz News