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I don’t think we belong to any band’: Mixed reactions trail hike in electricity tariff
Following the recent upward review of electricity tariffs by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigerians have expressed shock, saying the recent increment is coming at a time the citizens are faced with numerous economic challenges.
Nigerians since the inception of this administration have been faced with a harsh economic situation following the removal of fuel subsidy which led to changes in the price of transportation, then a series of monetary policies, making foodstuff very expensive.
As the Naira continued to appreciate in the parallel market, Nigerians were optimistic that the prices of food would reduce. However, the NERC increased the electricity tariff, thereby compounding the existing problem.
In the new tariff, electricity consumers were categorized into Bands. Band A are consumers who enjoy 20 hours of electricity a day and above, Band B are consumers who enjoy 16 hours of electricity per day and above, Band C are consumers who gets12 hours of power per day and above, while Band D and E are consumers who enjoy 8 and 4 hours power per day and above respectively.
According to Ikechukwu Amah, an Abuja resident, those categorized under Band A do not enjoy 20 hours of power supply daily.
“The government is all for raising money at all costs. Like it was with PMS and subsidy, so it is turning out with electricity and subsidy. They ought to have carried out massive reforms, improving quality and quantity, before adjusting tariffs slowly.
“There’s no justification whatsoever for raising the electricity tariff by 300%. The worst part of this move is that over 50% of those who have been categorized into band A do not receive up to 20 hours of power supply every day”, Amah said.
Frank Eneh said before the electricity tariff is increased, there should be an 80 per cent power supply for over 90 days.
“I am not against tariff review, but electricity must be available at an uptime of 80% per cent over a 90-day period before any upward tariff is carried out. Now an upward review by Discos is like rewarding perennial failure”.
Ralph Eberechukwu Edeh, while sharing his thoughts, said “Energy is the number one thing that cuts across all endeavours of life. For investors and industries to function perfectly well, and for farmers and producers to get produce across all cities and markets, energy is the determinant factor of their prices. What about the use of it at home? Everything is energy.
“Then, why has the government chosen to frustrate those areas? Why has the government chosen to remove the fuel subsidy and are still targeting all forms of alternative energy when they’ve not even done anything to provide a conducive environment to test-run sources of revenue before making an increment?
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
US President-elect, Donald Trump’s incoming administration plans to immediately order a series of deportation raids targeting illegal immigrants after his inauguration.
Chicago is expected to be the first major city targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as part of Operation Safeguard, the New York Times reported, citing two people familiar with planning the undertaking.
The massive deportation operation is expected to target criminals and gang members in the United States illegally and run for one week.
Trump has promised to conduct the largest deportation program in U.S. history.
Up to 200 ICE agents are being sent to Chicago to help kick off the operation on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The agency has already asked agents to volunteer for the post-inauguration raids.
“There’s gonna be a big raid across the country,” Tom Homan, who will be in charge of U.S. borders once Trump takes office, told Fox News in an interview.
Homan has previously said he will instruct ICE agents to carry out raids on illegal immigrants at their workplaces.
In addition to Chicago, the sweeping crackdown will also target other major U.S. cities with large immigrant populations.
Trump is set to take the oath of office on Monday, January 20, in an inauguration that will take place indoors.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A faith-based civil society organization, CSO that monitors and reports on Hajj and Umrah activities, the Independent Hajj Reporters, IHR, has commended the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, NAHCON, for selecting a different Saudi-based Hajj service provider for the 2025 Hajj season.
It said the decision would create healthy competition among service providers interested in efficiently, qualitatively, and satisfactorily serving Nigerian pilgrims.
The CSO, in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Malam Ibrahim Muhammed, in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, and made available to our correspondent on Sunday in Abuja, said the quest for improved Hajj services has been a major challenge for Nigerian pilgrims owing to the repeated failure of providing satisfactory services.
”We applauded the decision to pick another service provider that will cater for the needs of pilgrims within the Masha’ir areas during the five days of Hajj,” he said
The national coordinator, who is currently in Saudi Arabia to monitor the pre-Hajj arrangements, said available information shows that the new company, Mashariq Al Dhahabia, is an experienced provider that has served top-rated Hajj countries, like Indonesia and Malaysia, and ranked among the top five Hajj service providers by the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.
“The company served 249 706 which is the largest number of Hajj pilgrims during the 2023 hajj. They were awarded as the Best Hajj Service Providers during the 2022 Hajj by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah,” he stated.
IHR said it further understood that NAHCON is planning to recruit another service provider to provide services for very important personalities, VIP pilgrims so as not to repeat the experience of previous years, which is also a desired step forward.
It, however, urged NAHCON to set a parameter of performance for the newly selected service providers to serve as a baseline for determining continuous patronage, advising that such criteria should be based on pilgrims’ satisfaction and adherence to contractual terms.
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