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Nigeria Reduces Electricity Supplies To Benin Republic, Togo, Niger To Enhance Domestic Supply

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The Federal Government has made the decision to reduce sales to cross-border markets in the Niger Republic, Niger Republic, and Togo in order to enhance the local electricity supply.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), which oversees electricity regulation, directed the System Operator (SO), a division of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, to limit power delivery to the three nearby customers to 6%.

The vice chairman of the commission, Musiliu Oseni, and chairman of the commission, Sanusi Garba, jointly signed the NERC order, which was published on Friday. It was dated April 29, 2024 and went into effect on May 1, 2024.

The directive, outlined in a document titled ‘Interim Order on Transmission System Dispatch Operations, Cross-border Supply, and Related Matters,’ will only last for six months, subject to change.

According to the document, power delivery to Nigeria’s neighbours must not exceed six per cent of the total grid electricity at any given time.

The electricity sector regulator expressed concern about sub-optimal grid dispatch practices, which have impacted the ability of Distribution Companies (DisCos) to meet their service tariff commitments to end-users.

“The reliance on limiting Discos’ load off-take while prioritising international off-takers and Eligible Customers has proven neither efficient nor equitable,” the document read.

NERC stressed that the current international and bilateral contracts with Generation Companies (GenCos) often fall short of industry standards.

It stated that many off-takers contracted bilaterally by GenCos exploit this prioritisation, exceeding their contracted levels during peak operations without penalties.

As an interim measure, NERC said the move was targeted at guiding the system operator and TCN in implementing Standard Operating Procedures to enhance transparency and fairness in grid operations.

The order also called on the system operator to place interim caps on capacities supplied to international customers for the next six months, minimising the impact on domestic supply obligations by Gencos.

The document stated that the system operator must develop and present a pro-rata load-shedding scheme to ensure equitable load allocation to all off-takers (Discos, international customers, and eligible customers) during generation drops or grid imbalances.

“The system operator will log and publish hourly readings, enforcing penalties for violations of grid instructions and contracted nominations. Maximum load allocation to international off-takers in each trading hour shall not exceed six per cent of the total available grid generation.”

It partly read, “The commission hereby orders as follows: The system operator shall develop and present to the commission for approval within seven days from the issuance of this order a pro-rata load-shedding scheme that ensures equitable adjustment to load allocation to all off-takers, Discos, international customers, and eligible customers, in the event of a drop in generation and other under-frequency related grid imbalances necessitating critical grid management.

“The system operator shall implement a framework to log and publish hourly readings and enforce necessary sanctions for violation of grid instructions and contracted nominations by off-takers in line with the grid code and market.

“The aggregate capacity that can be nominated by a generating plant to service international off-takers shall not be more than 10 per cent of its available generation capacity unless in exceptional circumstances a derogation is granted by the commission.“The system operator shall henceforth cease to recognise any capacity addition in bilateral transactions between a generator and an off-taker without the express approval of the commission,” it added.

It urged, “The system operator and TCN to immediately initiate and install integrated Internet of Things (IoT) meters at all off-take and delivery points of eligible customers, bilateral supplies, cross-border trades, and outgoing 33kV feeders of the Discos to provide real-time visibility of aggregate offtake by grid customers.

“The installation of and streaming of data from the IOT meters should be completed within three months from the date of this order.”

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Federal High Court Orders Eviction Of Emir Sanusi From Palace, State Court Halts Enforcement

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The Federal High Court sitting in Kano on Tuesday, May 28, ordered the eviction of Muhammadu Sanusi II from the palace

It was gathered that, the court, presided over by Justice S. A. Amobeda, also gave the police orders to make sure that Aminu Bayero, the 15th Emir of Kano, receives all rights and advantages due to him as the legitimate Emir of Kano.

According to Justice Amobeda, the decision was taken to uphold justice and preserve the peace in Kano State.

Justice Amobeda said: “An order of interim injunction restraining the respondents either by themselves, their agents, servants, privies or any other person or authority from inviting, arresting, detaining, threatening, intimidating, harassing the applicant, raiding, tempering with or visiting the applicant’s in order to arrest or infringe on his right or in any other way infringe or attempt to infringe the Applicant’s rights pending the hearing and determination of the originating motion

“An order restraining the 3rd, 4th and 5th respondents and all other respondents from denying the applicant to use his official residence and palace at the Emir’s Palace, Kofar Kudu as well as enjoy all rights and privileges accrued to him by virtue of being emir of Kano State and to evicting anything, anybody residing within the palace illegally pending the hearing and the determination of the originating summons.”

The Attorney General of the federation, the attorney general of the state, the police commissioner, the army etc are respondents.

The suit has been adjourned to June 4 for a hearing.

Meanwhile, a State High Court sitting at Miller Road, Kano had earlier on Tuesday, May 28, restrained the police, State Security Service (SSS) and Nigerian military from evicting the reinstated Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II from the palace.

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NBA, State Government Kick As 12-Yr-Old’s Two Hands Get Amputated By Nephew For Allegedly Stealing Phone In Gombe

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A 12-year-old child known only as Adamu had both of his hands amputated by his relative for allegedly robbing a phone in Gombe State.

Mwalin Abdu, on May 27, the vice chairman of the state’s Nigerian Bar Association, made this public.

Abdu, who also serves as the NBA’s Human Rights Committee Chair, brought attention to the development on Children’s Day, which was honoured on a global scale.

In a statement, titled: “Protecting our future: Urgent action needed on child protection in Gombe State,” which she issued on Monday, she said: “In 2018, we woke up to the story of young Zubair Abubakar (13 years old), whose arms were amputated because of the abuse by his teacher, just four days ago was another devastating story of 12-year-old Adamu from Tumu District in Akko LG of same Gombe State who also lost his arms due to similar incident with Zubair Abubakar, over alleged theft of phone.

“Even though the office of the Attorney General has taken over the prosecution of the cases, we believe that is not enough, because these two stories are just a tip of the iceberg of the numerous daily reported and unreported complaints or cases of child abuse in the state, ranging from sexual abuse, child labour, child molestation, child trafficking and so on.

“The heartbreaking tales of young victims like Zubair Abubakar and Adamu from Gombe State underscore a troubling reality: child abuse remains a pervasive issue in our communities, transcending mere headlines to expose the harsh realities faced by our most vulnerable members.

“While the ratification of the child protection law in 2022 was a pivotal step, the gap between legislation and its effective enforcement looms large, leaving children at risk and their futures uncertain.

“The time for passive observance has passed, the safeguarding of every child’s well-being demands immediate and resolute action.

“Gombe State must move swiftly to implement and enforce the child protection law, ensuring that those who exploit and harm our children face the full force of justice.

“Robust reporting mechanisms, specialised victim support services, and widespread awareness campaigns are imperative to redress the rampant abuse, exploitation, and trafficking that plague our dear state.

“On this National Children’s Day, let us recommit ourselves to the noble cause of defending our children’s rights in Gombe State.

“Their safety is non-negotiable, and our duty is unwavering – to shield them from harm and equip them with the resilience to surmount the challenges that lie ahead.

“Gombe State stands on the threshold of change; the time for action is now.

“Let us rise as one to protect our children, nurture their dreams, and embolden them to carve a future steeped in promise.

“The moment beckons, and our children look to us for a brighter tomorrow.”

In its reaction to the development on Monday, The Gombe State Government said it has filed charges against the man who amputated Adamu’s hands.

Abubakar Jungudo, the Director of Public Prosecutions in the Gombe State Ministry of Justice, confirmed this to newsmen.

Jungudo said: “We are going to prosecute the defendant.

“We are awaiting the assignment of the case by the Chief Judge of Gombe State.

“One of the Magistrates in Kashere drew my attention to the case, having seen the seriousness of the injury and it was referred to the Gombe State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.”

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JUST IN: Labour Rejects Federal Government’s Fresh N60,000 Minimum Wage Offer, Insists On N494,000

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The minimum salary that was initially suggested by the Federal Government at a meeting of the tripartite committee on minimum wage in Abuja on Tuesday was increased by N3,000 to N60,000.

During the most recent minimum wage conference, organised labor—which includes the Trade Union Congress and the Nigeria Labour Congress—also reduced their request by N3,000 from N497,000.

Labour leaders were not pleased with the sum that the government had suggested, according to a source who provided the breakdown during the meeting on Tuesday.

A member of the union who spoke to our correspondent before the meeting started noted that organised labour would only go lower if the government went higher on its demands.

“This is simply a case of if they go higher, we will go lower. They need to propose something reasonable for us to propose something lower too. There is no two-way about it.

“Also, we have a way of meeting as members of the Labour before each committee meeting. This will help us to take a uniform stand by the time we get to the meeting front.

“So as long as the government is ready to present something reasonable, we will meet them in the middle,” the labour leader said.

 

More to come…

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