President Buhari has ended estimated billing of electricity

President Muhammadu Buhari has ended the corrupt regime of estimated and arbitrary billing of electricity consumed, and has directed a nationwide mass metering of residents, the presidency has announced.

To make it easier for Distribution Companies (DisCos) to meter every household and business, the president "has approved a one-year waiver of import levy on electricity meters, so that Nigerians who do not have meters can be supplied same as early as possible at reasonable cost," a statement from the presidency reads.

Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), James Momoh says "tariff reviews going forward will only follow service-based principles.

"Under these service-based principles, DisCos will only be able to review tariff rates for customers when they consult with customers, commit to increasing the number of hours of supply per day and quality of service.

 

In all cases, poor and vulnerable Nigerians will not experience any increase. In line with these expectations, DisCos are directed to engage with their customers on a Service Based Tariff structure."

Henceforth, customers who have not been metered will not experience any cost increase beyond what is chargeable to metered customers in the same area.

"There will be no change in tariff for the most vulnerable as tariffs for those consuming 50KW or less remain frozen. "Customers receiving less than 12 hours of supply will also not experience any change in tariffs," Momoh adds.

The estimated billing regime has been a corruption-riddled one, with electricity personnel using the system to line up their pockets, amid the darkness and erratic power supply that have become the story of Nigeria for decades.

SOURCE: Pulse

Suspect arrested for UNIBEN student Uwa's rape, murder says gang was paid N1 million

 

The Edo State Police Command has arrested six suspects in connection to the brutal rape and murder of Uwaila Omozuwa.

The 22-year-old first year student of the University of Benin, was raped and fatally wounded while reading inside a Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) parish on May 27, 2020.

She died three days later and her case became the rallying point for a resurgence in the national campaign against gender-based violence in Nigeria.

The Edo State Police Command paraded Nelson Ogbebor, Akato Valentine, Tina Samuel, Mary Ade, Nosa Osabohien, and Collins Ulegbe as suspects on Wednesday, August 26.

The Edo State Commissioner of Police, Johnson Kokumo, told journalists that the suspects have already made confessional statements to the Police.

"What we are seeing today, is a result of the uniting efforts of the police to get at the root of the crime," Kokumo said.

 

 

Osabohien, a phone repairer, was the first to be arrested by the police because he bought Uwa's phone for N17,000, prompting him to lead authorities to Ulegbe who's been identified as the principal suspect.

Ulegbe confessed to striking Uwa with the fire extinguisher that has been identified as the murder weapon and left at the scene of the crime.

He named Ogbebor and Valentine as other suspects who were similarly at the scene of the crime with him. They both denied their involvement.

Ade, identified as the mastermind, allegedly offered the sum of N1 million to the gang to kill Uwa for ritual purposes.

She denied the allegation and said she would prove her innocence in court.

Samuel was arrested for allegedly assaulting police officers who wanted to arrest her son, Lucky, who has also been identified as a suspect but remains at large.

She said she hasn't seen her 21-year-old hair stylist son in five months.

Ulegbe denied that the gang raped Uwa, but Kokumo said a post-mortem examination confirmed that she was, in fact, raped.

SOURCE: Pulse