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Tariff Hike Looms For Band A Feeders As Monthly Power Subsidy Hits N181bn

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Electricity customers on Band A feeders may face a tariff increase due to the rising electricity tariff shortfall, or subsidy.

The Federal Government’s electricity subsidy rose from N102.30bn in May to N181.63bn in September.

In April, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission removed subsidies for Band A feeders, which had a N140.7bn subsidy.

This change raised tariffs to N225/kWh for Band A customers, who receive at least 20 hours of electricity daily.

The decision sparked outrage among Nigerians, including labour unions and education and health institutions, whose electricity bills tripled.

When the subsidy dropped to N102.30bn in May, the government lowered the Band A tariff to N206.80/kWh. However, the tariff increased to N209/kWh in July as the subsidy rose to N158bn in June.

According to data released by the NERC, the subsidy rose to N163.87bn in July, N173.88bn in August, and N181.63bn in September, fuelling speculations that there may be another tariff increase in the October Multi-Year Tariff Order unless the cost of power generation drops.

It was gathered that the foreign exchange crisis has been the major driver of the electricity subsidy. The NERC put the dollar exchange rate at N1,494.1 in July; 1,564.3 in August; and N1601.5 in September.

According to the regulator, the dollar rate and inflation are the determinants of the cost of power production. In the MYTO order to all the power distribution companies for September, the NERC said, further to Section 23 of the MYTO-2024, the supplementary orders are to reflect the changes in the pass-through indices outside the control of licensees including inflation rates, naira/dollar exchange rate, available generation capacity and gas price for the determination of cost-reflective tariffs.

The naira to the US dollar exchange rate of N1,601.50 to a dollar was adopted for September.

The Nigerian inflation rate of 33.40 per cent for July 2024 as published by the National Bureau of Statistics was applied to revise the Nigerian inflation rate projection for 2024 while the US inflation rate of 2.90 percent for July 2024 was applied to revise the US Inflation rate projection for 2024.

As of September, the NERC maintains the benchmark gas-to-power price of $2.42/MMBTU based on the established benchmark price of gas-to-power by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority in line with Section 167 of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.

The cost of power generation is also being impacted by contracted gas supply and transportation prices outside the domestic gas delivery obligation quantities based on effective gas sale agreements approved by the commission.

When the commission reduced the Band A tariff to N206/KWh in May, its spokesperson, Usman Arabi, said that the reduction was due to the naira appreciation in the foreign exchange market.

It was observed that despite the rise in the cost of power generation, the Federal Government has yet to approve another tariff hike, perhaps due to the current economic hardship in the country, especially with the rise in the cost of premium motor spirit otherwise known as petrol.

For example, in the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, the commission said the energy delivered was 611 megawatt-hours per hour in April.

The same was delivered from May to September. While the generation cost was N103.9 per kilowatt-hour in April, it dropped to N87.33/KWh in May and rose to N113.69/KWh in September.

The AEDC had a transmission and admin cost of N9.1/kWh in April, N8.9/kWh in May and N9.8/kWh in June. It is N10.4 in September.

It was gathered from the NERC data that the end-user cost-reflective tariff in AEDC was N185/kWh in July; N192.2/kWh in August and N195.5/kWh in September.

Similarly, the end-user allowed tariff was N117.31/kWh in the three months, indicating that despite the rise in the cost of power generation, the NERC pegged the allowed tariffs at the same rate in July, August, and September.

However, it was gathered that the Discos are already complaining over the non-cost-reflective tariffs.

Some of them are currently refusing to off-take electricity allocated to them from the grid, demanding that subsidies be removed in all bands.

A top official of one of the Discos had said that the power companies were finding it difficult to pick the extra energy produced by generation companies because they were not happy with the tariff on other bands apart from Band A.

“As it is now, we are operating at a loss. Yes, they supply more power but this problem could be solved with improved tariff for the other bands and more meter penetration to recover the cost,” the Disco official, who pleaded not to be named due to lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, said.

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, recently decried the rejection of power by electricity distribution companies, describing it as regrettable.

According to the minister, generation peaked above 5,000 megawatts recently, but “unfortunately, it had to be ramped down by 1,400MW due to the inability of the Discos to pick the supply.”

Adelabu lamented the development, saying “This is really regrettable considering that the government is on course to increase generation to 6,000MW by the end of the year.”

Adelabu called on power distribution companies to take more energy to prevent grid collapse as the grid’s frequency drops when power is produced and not picked by the Discos.

 

Credit: The Punch

BIG STORY

Police To Resume Nationwide Tinted Glass Permit Enforcement January 2, 2026

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The Nigeria Police Force has announced that it will resume the nationwide enforcement of the tinted glass permit policy from January 2, 2026, citing growing security concerns linked to the misuse of unauthorized tinted vehicle glass.

The announcement was contained in a statement issued on Monday by the Force Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Police Benjamin Hundeyin.

The police said the decision followed a review of emerging security threats and the need to enhance public safety, pending the final determination of a related matter currently before the court.

The Force clarified that there was no court order restraining it from enforcing the law regulating the use of tinted glass on vehicles.

It explained that enforcement was earlier suspended in the interest of transparency and public convenience, to allow motorists sufficient time to regularize their documentation and complete the permit application process without pressure.

According to the statement, recent security trends have revealed a rise in criminal activities carried out with the aid of vehicles fitted with unauthorized tinted glass.

Such vehicles, the police noted, have been used by criminals to conceal their identities while committing offences including armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes.

In view of these developments, the police said the resumption of enforcement had become necessary and urgent as a proactive step to safeguard lives and property across the country.

“Recent trends, however, reveal a disturbing rise in criminal activities perpetrated with the aid of vehicles fitted with unauthorized tinted glass.

“Some individuals and organized criminal groups have exploited this gap to conceal their identities and facilitate crimes ranging from armed robbery to kidnapping and other violent crimes.

“In view of this, the Nigeria Police Force has found it both necessary and urgent to resume full enforcement as a proactive measure to safeguard our communities. Consequently, enforcement of Tinted Glass Permit will resume on 2nd January, 2026,” the statement read.

 

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Buhari Believed Aso Rock Gossip I Planned Killing Him, Began Locking His Room —— Aisha

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Former First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has narrated how her husband, the late President Muhammadu Buhari “began locking his room” following gossip in Aso Rock that she (Aisha) planned to kill him.

The ex-First Lady also said the health crisis that forced Buhari, to take 154 days of medical leave in 2017 began with a broken feeding routine and mismanaged nutrition.

She argued that Buhari’s illness was not a mysterious ailment or poisoning.

Her account of the health crisis appeared in a new 600-page biography, ’From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari’, authored by Dr. Charles Omole, launched at the State House on Monday.

It read, “According to Aisha Buhari, her husband’s 2017 health crisis did not originate as a mysterious ailment or a covert plot. It started, she says, with the loss of a routine; ‘my nutrition,’ she describes it, a pattern of meals and supplements she had long overseen in Kaduna before they moved into Aso Villa.”

The former First Lady convened a meeting with close staff, including the physician, Suhayb Rafindadi; the CSO, Bashir Abubakar; the housekeeper, and the SSS DG to explain the plan.

She said, “Daily, cups and bowls with tailored vitamin powders and oils, a touch of protein here, a change to cereals there.”

“When the Presidency’s machinery took over our private lives, she explained the plan: daily, at specific hours, cups and bowls with tailored vitamin powders and oil, a touch of protein here, a change to cereals there. Elderly bodies require gentle, consistent support,” Omole narrated.

However, the routine frayed.

“Then came the gossip and the fearmongering. They said I wanted to kill him,” the book quotes her as saying.

“My husband believed them for a week or so,” she said, revealing that the President began locking his room, changed small habits, and crucially, “meals were delayed or missed; the supplements were stopped.”

“For a year, he did not have lunch. They mismanaged his meals,” she added.

The deterioration culminated in Buhari’s two extended medical trips to the United Kingdom, totalling 154 days in 2017, during which he ceded authority to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

Upon return, he admitted to being “never so ill” and having received blood transfusions.

Buhari’s absences “sparked rumours, speculation, and even conspiracy theories,” Omole wrote.

Mrs Buhari debunked stories of plots to poison her husband.

Her contention, Omole noted, is that “loss of a routine, ‘my nutrition,’ was the genesis of the crisis.”

In London, doctors prescribed an even stronger regimen of supplements, he explained.

Initially, Buhari “was frightened and not taking them as prescribed. So she took charge of his welfare, slipping hospital-issued supplements into his juice and oats,” it read.

The former First Lady described the turnaround as swift, noting, “After just three days, he threw away the stick he was walking with. After a week, he was receiving relatives.”

“‘That,’ she says, ‘was the genesis, and also the reversal of his sickness,’” the book stated.

According to Omole, critics said Buhari’s reliance on UK hospitals exposed the failure of Nigeria’s health system.

A “more compassionate perspective,” he wrote, recognises that a man in his 70s may require specialised care “not readily available in Nigeria” after “decades of underinvestment.”

He also noted Buhari’s habit of handing power to his deputy during absences, which, he said, ensured “institutional propriety, even during personal health crises.”

The book also revealed a climate of mistrust around the Presidency.

Mrs Buhari alleged surveillance, the bugging of the President’s office with listening devices and playback of private conversations, saying, fear and conscience “contributed to taking his life.”

She refuted the long-held rumour that Buhari had a body double, popularly known as “Jibril of Sudan,” as absurd, arguing that poor strategic communication in government allowed simple, banal developments to metastasise into conspiracies.

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BIG STORY

Dangote Releases Details of ‘$5m Spent By NMDPRA CEO’ On His Children’s Secondary School Education In Switzerland [PHOTO]

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Aliko Dangote, chairman of the Dangote Group, says Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), spent about $5 million on the secondary school education of his children in Switzerland.

In a paid newspaper advert on Tuesday, the billionaire said Ahmed paid the said amount for four of his children, covering a period of six years.

On Monday, Dangote had alleged that Ahmed Farouk “paid $5 million” to a Swiss secondary school for his children’s education, describing the act as “economic sabotage and corruption”.

Releasing details of his allegations, in the newspaper advert, Dangote listed the four children as Faisal Farouk, Farouk Jr., Ashraf Farouk, and Farhana Farouk.

According to the billionaire entrepreneur, the secondary schools the children attended for a duration of six years were Montreux School, Aiglon College, Institut Le Rosey, and La Garenne International School.

Dangoted also presented estimated annual tuition, living expenses, air travel, and upkeep, which were multiplied across four children and several years of study.

He said the annual cost of tuition, airfare, and upkeep per child was $200,000, which totals $800,000 per year for his four children.

The businessman further explained that the total living expenses and air tickets per child over six years was $1.2 million, amounting to $4.8 million for all four children.

Overall, Dangote estimated that the combined cost of tuition and upkeep for all the children reached $5 million.

He also listed the tertiary education expenses for Ahmed’s children, noting that tuition, upkeep, airfare, and other costs average approximately $125,000 per year over a four-year period.

According to the billionaire, this adds up to $500,000 for four years per child, totaling $2 million for all of them.

“Faisal just finished the 2025 Harvard MBA at $150,000 and $60,000 for upkeep, tickets and other incidentals. Total =$210,000 spent in 2025 for Faisal’s MBA,” he added.

Dangote said Nigerians deserve to know the source of the money “paid by a public officer while many parents in his home state of Sokoto cannot afford to pay N10,000 school fees for their children and wards”.

 

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