The Federal Government announced plans to compensate Band A electricity users who experienced extended blackouts across northern Nigeria. Discussions are ongoing between the government, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and distribution companies to ensure affected customers aren’t billed for days without power, as confirmed by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, after briefing President Bola Tinubu at Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

Adelabu emphasized that all categories of Band A users—residential, commercial, and industrial—will be exempt from charges during the blackout period, providing relief to consumers affected by the power disruption.

The blackout, affecting 17 northern states, was attributed to vandalism of the Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line, a critical channel for electricity in the region. Security concerns have also delayed repairs, prolonging the outage.

When asked about compensating affected users, especially those in Band A who pay the highest rates, Adelabu stated, “Yes, we are working on a solution.” He added that a meeting with NERC and distribution companies is in the works to finalize these measures. “Customers will not be billed for those days,” he confirmed.

NERC categorizes electricity consumers into five bands—A through E—based on power reliability, which determines their billing rates. Band A users, who typically receive at least 20 hours of electricity daily, pay the highest rates between N55 and N60 per kilowatt-hour (kWh). Lower bands, such as B, C, D, and E, receive fewer hours of power, with corresponding reductions in rates.

This banded tariff system seeks to balance service reliability with charges, incentivizing distribution companies to improve electricity supply to consumers. However, inconsistencies between actual supply and billing continue to challenge the system, leaving many consumers dissatisfied with the reliability of their power supply.

The Federal Government through the National Inland Waterways Authority has said that it is moving towards phasing out wooden boats on inland waterways.

Bola Oyebamji, the Managing Director of NIWA, made this known during an interaction in Lagos.

Speaking during the interaction, which focused largely on the safety of the waterways and the expansion of water travel, Oyebamiji explained that over 90% of boats on the waterways are wooden boats and are accounted for the majority of accidents on the waterways nationwide.

He said this was large because they had no regard for operational rules, “which included not traveling at night, overloading and failure to use life jackets by both operators and passengers.”

“Most of them have no light at all. Overloading is also an issue. And the boats are piloted by people of the lowest education in Nigeria,” he stated.

He said NIWA had consciously increased the number of its marshals from 80 to 350 at jetties to cover the entire country, in a bid to resolve the issue in short term.

Oyebamiji said at least two marshals are at jetties per time daily, observing morning and night shifts.

He also revealed that rigorous campaign has been embarked on by the agency both at the jetties and via the media.

The NIWA boss mentioned that the campaign was being done in both English and the local languages of the communities covered.

He said the campaign focused on enlightening the boat operators and passengers on the ills of night travel, overloading, and not using life jackets, among others.

The managing director, however, said the long-term goal is to phase out wooden boats from operation.

Oyebamiji said the agency was liaising with the Presidency and Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, to replace wooden boats nationwide.

He equally said for now, the agency would deploy more patrol boats to monitor operators in line with the NIWA Code, adding that the Nigerian Navy was also assisting in this regard.

“A lot of people bring God into this matter of safety on waterways when we are the problems ourselves. Our characters and our behaviors are the great determinants here,” Oyebamiji stated.

He vowed that the agency would continue to push by applying education, enlightenment, and sanction, where need be, until there are zero fatalities on our waterways.

“There is so much we would have had to do in this regard while we hope that all stakeholders will start playing by the rules,” he concluded.

Festus Keyamo, Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, recently disclosed that over 100 airlines have ceased operations in the country’s aviation sector within the last 40 years due to the industry’s high mortality rate.

Speaking at the 10th-anniversary celebration of Nigeria’s largest airline, Air Peace, held in Lagos, Keyamo expressed concern over the frequent airline failures. He praised Air Peace for its resilience, noting, “It’s a significant achievement that Air Peace has thrived for a decade, given the tough history of Nigerian airlines struggling to reach 10 years in good health.”

He referenced numerous defunct airlines, including Concord, Zenith, and Bellview, attributing their decline to systemic issues. Keyamo highlighted Nigeria’s substantial share of African air traffic, with the Lagos-Abuja route being the busiest in Africa. “With our population and demand, it’s troubling that so many airlines haven’t survived. This administration is committed to addressing these issues with industry stakeholders,” he said.

Allen Onyema, Chairman of Air Peace, emphasized that the airline’s purpose extends beyond profit. “Air Peace was founded from a deep commitment to positively impact Nigeria and create jobs for young Nigerians,” Onyema shared, adding that while profitability is vital, it was not the airline’s primary goal.

The Minister reaffirmed the administration’s goal of reducing airline failures and fostering a sustainable aviation sector in Nigeria.