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FG panel blames poor maintenance for grid collapses
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The Federal Government has revealed that a poor maintenance culture and inadequate and aged equipment, among other challenges, are the underlying reasons for the incessant multiple collapses of the national power grid witnessed in recent months.
It also stated that the high voltage of electricity surpassing the capacity of its equipment caused the blackout witnessed on October 14 and 19, 2024.
The Chairman of the investigative committee probing reasons for grid collapse, Nafisatu Asabe Ali, revealed this during the report presentation at ministry headquarters on Wednesday in Abuja.
This came barely 24 hours after the latest collapse that occurred on Tuesday, making it the 10th time the national grid would collapse in 2024 alone.
According to her, the investigative team observed similar challenges and problems affecting all stations during its probe.
She said the investigative team examined the grid collapse incident that occurred on October 14 and 19 and found out that the shattering of lightning arrestors in Jebba and Oshogbo transmission stations and the explosion of a CT also in Jebba Station were reasons for both incidents.
According to her, “For the event on the 14th, lightning arrestors in Jebba and Oshogbo shattered. The one in Jebba was for the shunt reactor and this was caused by high voltage. Subsequently, we had the tripping of multiple 330kV lines. It kept going until it became major.
“The remote cause of that is the unavailability of the second reactor in Jebba, and that is because Jebba, by the design of the network and sometimes the topology of the network at a particular time is very prone to high voltage.”
We had two shunt reactors in Jebba before this event, however, one packed up. It is faulty, and so the voltage rose to about 400KV, which is beyond the threshold. High voltage degrades equipment insulation.
“If you expose equipment to high voltages for a long time, it degrades the insulation. And, of course, there’s a risk of failure. So, that was a remote cause for that. But the underlying causes are aged equipment. In our findings, we confirmed that Jebba was commissioned in 1968. Some of the equipment was commissioned alongside the substation. So, aged equipment. And maintenance culture is also an issue.”
The committee listed several factors affecting the management including vandalism of power infrastructures, lack of free governors at power generation plants, uncoordinated maintenance schedules, and lack of adequate human capacity.
Responding to this, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said the ministry would push for additional funding from the 2024 Supplementary Budget and the 2025 Appropriation Bill to resolve the financial implications of strategies needed to curb the incessant grid collapse.
He expressed optimism that the frequent collapses of the Nigerian power grid system could be curbed with the implementation of far-reaching reforms, stating that “this incessant grid collapse, which is quite unfortunate and is worrisome to me personally as the Honorable Minister of Power overseeing this sector.”
Adelabu added that he would present an amended report to aid his submission to Tinubu owing to the financial implications.
He said, “Today’s meeting is to receive a report on the agency committee set up about two and a half weeks ago, to reveal the root cause of the incessant grid disturbances that we have experienced in the past few months. This is not good for us as a country. It is not good for us as a power sector. It is not good for us as a ministry of power and other agencies.”
The committee also listed recommendations for the audit and tests of existing equipment and improvement in maintenance of the transmission equipment and lines, installation of harmonics filters by Disco and Genco customers, decentralisation of TCN central store, enforcement of Free Governor Mode of Operation and removal of ad-lash taped optic fibre for Optical Ground Wires.
…English and Mathematics:
641,631 candidates (32.89%) were female
558,883 candidates (28.65%) were male
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has officially released the results of the 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates as girls top boys in English and Mathematics.
The release brings to an end weeks of anxious waiting for nearly two million candidates across Nigeria and parts of West Africa, who sat for the examination.
The examination body announced the development on Wednesday through its official X (formerly Twitter) account, directing candidates to generate their result-checking PIN and access their results online.
“UPDATE: 2026 WASSCE (SC) results have been released. Generate your PIN at http://waec.org and check your results now on http://waecdirect.org,” WAEC stated.
Speaking during a press conference in Lagos, the Head of the WAEC Nigeria National Office, Dr. Amos Dangut, disclosed that the council withheld the results of 167,486 candidates, representing 8.59 per cent of those who sat for the computer-based 2026 WASSCE for school candidates.
According to him, the affected results were withheld over alleged cases of examination malpractice and will remain under investigation until the council concludes its review.
WAEC revealed that 1,959,668 candidates from 24,207 secondary schools registered for the examination conducted across Nigeria, Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea.
Out of those registered, 1,950,726 candidates eventually sat for the examination.
The council disclosed that 1,834,695 candidates, representing 94.05 per cent, have had their results completely processed and released.
However, the results of 116,031 candidates (5.95 per cent) are still being processed and will be released once the exercise is completed.
Over 1.2 Million Candidates Scored Five Credits Including English And Mathematics
WAEC’s statistics show that 1,200,514 candidates, representing 61.54 per cent of those who sat the examination, obtained credits and above in at least five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
Meanwhile, 1,687,378 candidates (86.50 per cent) secured credits in at least five subjects, irrespective of whether English Language and Mathematics were included.
Despite the strong overall performance, the council noted a slight decline in the number of candidates who achieved the benchmark five credits including English and Mathematics.
Also Read: Police foil kidnap plot, arrest two suspects, recover firearms in Delta
Compared to the 2025 examination, the pass rate dropped by 1.42 percentage points.
Female Candidates Outperformed Male Candidates
WAEC also released a gender breakdown of the successful candidates.
Of the 1,200,514 candidates who obtained five credits, including English and Mathematics:
641,631 candidates (32.89%) were female
558,883 candidates (28.65%) were male
Overall participation also showed that female candidates slightly outnumbered their male counterparts.
According to the council:
997,267 females (51.12%) participated in the examination.
953,459 males (48.88%) sat for the examination.
With the release of the results, thousands of candidates are expected to begin admission processing into tertiary institutions, while those whose results were withheld will await the outcome of WAEC’s ongoing investigation into alleged examination malpractice.
Ten days to the gubernatorial election in Osun State, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has frozen Osun State Government account domiciled with First Bank of Nigeria.Lagos News Updates
The account used for the payment of workers’ salaries, was placed on “Post No Debit” status by the anti-graft agency.
Though, this is coming after Governor Ademola Adeleke alleged that the EFCC was plotting to freeze the state’s accounts and those of top government officials.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, Adeleke described the reported move as an attempt to cripple government activities ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
He reiterated that there was no legal basis for freezing the accounts of the state government, arguing that the EFCC lacked the statutory powers to take such action.
Meanwhile, the EFCC is yet to issue an official statement in respect to the development.
Vanguard
Small business owners in Nigeria have a fresh opportunity to access government funding as the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) reopens its Conditional Grant Scheme.
The programme provides qualified nano and micro enterprises with a one-off N50,000 grant that beneficiaries are not expected to repay.
The funding is intended to give small businesses additional resources to strengthen their day-to-day operations, invest in growth and increase their workforce.
However, the grant comes with a job creation condition. Businesses that benefit from the scheme are required to employ at least one additional worker.
Why SMEDAN is offering the grant
SMEDAN designed the Conditional Grant Scheme to make financial support more accessible to small businesses, particularly enterprises that may find it difficult to obtain conventional business loans.
Unlike a loan, the N50,000 support does not attract interest or require repayment, provided beneficiaries meet the conditions attached to the programme.
The agency said the initiative is also aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship, improving productivity and supporting economic activity at the local level.
The CGS should not be confused with the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme. While the two programmes are separate, both provide N50,000 grants to qualifying nano businesses.
Which businesses does the scheme target?
The funding is primarily aimed at nano and micro enterprises operating within local government areas across Nigeria.
Information applicants need
Business owners seeking the grant will have to provide personal and business details during the application process.
The information requested includes:
Applicant’s full name
Email address
Phone number
Business name
CAC registration number, if applicable
Type of industry or business
Years in business
Applicants should ensure that the details supplied are correct and correspond with their business information.
The grant is intended for legitimate business-related expenses that can help improve the performance of an enterprise.
Depending on their needs, beneficiaries can channel the funds towards:
Equipment purchases
Technology improvements
The support is therefore designed to go beyond immediate cash assistance by helping businesses improve their ability to operate and compete.
Participants in the Conditional Grant Scheme (CGS) for micro enterprises receive financial assistance tailored to their business needs.
These nano businesses get a sum of ₦50,000 grant on the condition of employing one person in order to encourage job creation.
Business owners interested in the N50,000 Conditional Grant Scheme should use the application portal designated by SMEDAN.
Applicants should carefully complete the registration process, provide accurate information and confirm that their businesses satisfy the conditions for participation before submitting their applications.
(VANGUARD)
Just in: WAEC releases 2026 WASSCE results as girls top boys in Maths, English
Just in: Ten days to guber election, EFCC freezes Osun govt First Bank account
FG Reopens Portal For Nigerians To Obtain N50,000 Grant(See how to apply)
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