Folarin Kehinde

Corpses in mortuaries within some barracks of the Nigerian Army are rotting away over power outage.

Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, disclosed this when he visited Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, to seek intervention.

Recall that the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) had given 83 MDAs in its franchise area a 10-day notice to pay the N47.1bn debt they owed the company or risk or risk disconnection.

Aso Rock was listed among the debtors, but President Bola Tinubu waded in immediately after the notice was issued.

The president had ordered that the debt be cleared.

During his visit to the minister, Lagbaja regretted that some barracks and cantonments have been in darkness since January.

“Debt owed is loaded on the meter, so no matter the amount of credit we put, the meters pick it automatically… Corpses in the Army mortuaries are decomposing and the owners of the corpses are protesting,” he said.

He further stated that it was impossible for the Army to raise funds to pay the entire debt and solicited for liquidation as was done in 2005 by the then President.

He assured the Minister of the army’s unflinching support towards developing intelligence strategies in curbing the menace of electricity infrastructure vandalism.

Adelabu assured the Nigerian Army of his readiness to dialogue with DisCos to find a way out of the problem.

According to the Special Adviser, Strategic Communication and Media Relations to the minister, Bolaji Tunji, Adelabu reiterated the importance of liquidity and funding in the sector, adding if the debts could not be written off, he would intervene in order to restructure the debt payment if there was assurance of regular payment by the Nigerian Army.

Recall that the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) had given 83 MDAs in its franchise area a 10-day notice to pay the N47.1bn debt they owed the company or risk or risk disconnection.

Aso Rock was listed among the debtors, but President Bola Tinubu waded in immediately after the notice was issued.

Only accountable judicial system’ll strengthen democracy – Tinubu
The president had ordered that the debt be cleared.

During his visit to the minister, Lagbaja regretted that some barracks and cantonments have been in darkness since January.

“Debt owed is loaded on the meter, so no matter the amount of credit we put, the meters pick it automatically… Corpses in the Army mortuaries are decomposing and the owners of the corpses are protesting,” he said.

He further stated that it was impossible for the Army to raise funds to pay the entire debt and solicited for liquidation as was done in 2005 by the then President.

He assured the Minister of the army’s unflinching support towards developing intelligence strategies in curbing the menace of electricity infrastructure vandalism.

Adelabu assured the Nigerian Army of his readiness to dialogue with DisCos to find a way out of the problem.

According to the Special Adviser, Strategic Communication and Media Relations to the minister, Bolaji Tunji, Adelabu reiterated the importance of liquidity and funding in the sector, adding if the debts could not be written off, he would intervene in order to restructure the debt payment if there was assurance of regular payment by the Nigerian Army.

He further revealed that debt owed by distribution and Generating Companies (GENCOs) is not the only challenge bedevilling the Power sector, adding that vandalization of power infrastructure which often lead to National grid collapse, theft, inefficiency in billing and collection process, poor metering gap, liquidity, shortage in gas supply, transmission stations being blown up with explosives in volatile areas are all part of the issues being experienced in the Power sector.

“The fundamental issues in the power sector value chain could be traced back to the last 50 years and a government which is barely eight months cannot use a magic wand to proffer solution. There is a saying that you won’t know what is happening in Rome until you get to Rome,” he said.

The Minister who acknowledged that Power outages is not peculiar to army barracks but a national issue said the DISCOs and GENCOs are profit-oriented organizations.

“We can only plead with them to adopt a repayment plan on a monthly basis instead of embedding the whole debt in their meter,” he said.

While encouraging the Army to continue assisting the Ministry in safeguarding power facilities across the nation, the Minister pledged to seek collaboration for the Army through any of the development partners for installation of Solar PVs and Battery Energy Storage System(BESS) as alternative power supply in Army barracks and cantonments.

Earlier, the Chief of Army Staff disclosed that the main reason for the visit was to discuss the consequences of the power outage in army formations and the way forward.

Youths affiliated with the Nigeria Civil Society Forum (NCSF) are currently at the Unity Fountain in the Business District Centre of Abuja for a massive rally endorsing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his administration.

The rally, organized to counter what participants perceived as inaccurate narratives about the government, saw enthusiastic youths adorned in white T-shirts and Fez caps with the resounding message, “Jagaban is working.”

The rally attracted a diverse group of young participants who arrived as early as 9 am; all united in their support for President Tinubu.

The attire, marked by the symbolic white T-shirts and Fez caps, created a visually striking and cohesive expression of their endorsement for the administration’s policies and initiatives.

Carrying an array of placards, the participants conveyed their messages of support through impactful slogans and statements.

Phrases such as “Jagaban is working” were boldly displayed by the youths.

The organizers of the solidarity rally explicitly stated that their primary objective was to challenge what they considered to be incorrect portrayals of the current state of affairs in the country.

They asserted that President Tinubu’s administration is steadfast in its pursuit of various programs and policies aimed at national development.

During the rally, several participants expressed their perspectives on President Tinubu’s leadership and the importance of countering misinformation.

Many echoed their belief that the administration is making significant progress in various sectors, and the rally served as a platform for them to voice their support openly.

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of qualified individuals to serve in agencies under the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

The appointees and their respective positions are as follows:

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC):

1. Abraham Oshadami — Executive Commissioner, Technical Services
2. Rimini Makama — Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management
3. Opeyemi Dele-Ajayi — President/CEO, Digital Bridge Institute

Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited:

1. Abiodun Attah — Executive Director, Technical Services
2. Aisha Abdullahi — Executive Director, Finance & Administration
3. Jaiyeola Awokoya — Executive Director, Marketing & Business Development

Galaxy Backbone (BB) Limited:
Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju —

1. Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju
   Managing Director/CEO
2. Mohammed Sani Ibrahim — Executive Director, Finance & Corporate Services

3.Olusegun Olulade — Executive
Director, Customer Centricity & Marketing

4. Olumbe Akinkugbe — Executive Director, Digital Exploration & Technical Services

Presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said the appointments aim to strengthen the agencies’ leadership teams and contribute to advancing the digital and communications sector in Nigeria.

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Gbenga Alade as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON.

Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

He equally announced other management team of AMCON.

He noted that the appointments were pending confirmation by the Nigerian Senate.

The President urged the the new appointees to put forward thier unflagging dedication, professionalism, and dutifulness to ensure that the operations of AMCON were more efficient, transparent, and in consonance with his determination to sanitize the nation’s financial system to maximize value and enhance investor confidence in the Nigerian economy.

Full List:

Gbenga Alade — Managing Director/CEO

Aminu Ismail — Executive Director;

Adeshola Lamidi — Executive Director;

Lucky Adaghe — Executive Director.

Soldiers opened fire, on Thursday, when suspected hoodlums hijacked trailers loaded with foodstuff in the Suleja Area of Niger State.

Alhassan Abdullahi, a witness, told our correspondent that many trailers coming from Abuja and heading for Kaduna were blocked by the hoodlums who burnt tyres on the road.

He said many bags of food stuffs, especially rice, were stolen before soldiers arrived the scene.

“It took intervention of soldiers who arrived the scene and started firing gun shots in the air to scare the hoodlums away. But even with that, many of them went away with bags of rice and cartons of spaghetti and other food items.”

“We learnt commercial motorcycle riders are also planning a protest. They would have done it since yesterday but we didn’t know what stopped them,” he said.

The development comes amid the nationwide hardship that has triggered protests in different parts of the country.

Details later…

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said that the state will resume a 25% reduction on public transportation in the state.

In a live media chat with journalists on Thursday, the governor said, “Almost immediately from this weekend, we’re throwing back a 25% reduction on all public transportation.

“We’re working with the various unions to ensure that we also can support them. But on our BRT, our trains, our ferry services, we’re going to begin to enjoy that almost immediately from this weekend.

“I’ve given an instruction, so they are working on the logistics for that.”

The Lagos State Government, in a bid to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal, slashed the costs of transportation of all state-owned transport systems by 50 per cent in August 2023. It was, however stopped in November, 2023.

In a bid to alleviate economic challenges faced by residents, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has announced a new working arrangement for civil servants in the state.

Under this directive, civil servants in levels 1 to 14 will operate on a three-day workweek.

During a live media chat, ‘Sanwo Speaks,’ the governor made this announcement, where he outlined measures to ease economic burdens on Lagosians.

He said the new working schedule is expected to provide relief and flexibility to workers while addressing economic challenges.

He, however, noted that workers in the teaching sector will maintain the traditional five-day work schedule.

To ensure their smooth transition, he pledged additional transport support for them.

Sanwo-Olu said the move is part of the state government’s commitment to adapting to the evolving economic landscape and prioritizing the welfare of its workforce.

He added that by allowing for a more flexible work arrangement, his government aims to balance maintaining productivity and easing the strain on workers.