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Indemnity, public safety are reasons why Discos take control of donated equipment – ANED
The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) has explained why electricity distribution companies (Discos) assume ownership of equipment voluntarily made available by customers for use by their networks.
In a statement signed by ANED’s Executive Director for Research and Advocacy, Barr. Sunday Oduntan, the body said it boiled down to a matter of indemnity and safety critical protection.
“Many people have asked that question and the answer is simple, and we feel it is important to shed light on it for the sake of public awareness. It is a case of indemnity and protection.
“The DisCos take responsibility for any incident that happens with those infrastructure. It is important for Nigerians to understand that Discos have a responsibility to ensure that only good quality equipments duly certified by Nigerian Electricity Management and Safety Agency (NEMSA) are installed in our network.
“After installation, Discos have to take steps to protect such equipment such that it will be safe for use by customers. We have had occasions when some transformers that were installed in the days of PHCN, for instance in Lugbe, Abuja, caused electrocution. We need to protect the equipments and ensure that access is only granted to qualified personnel. People have lost their lives because they were trying to ‘maintain their transformers’.
“This is why we ask customers to write a letter of donation to the DisCos. If the items do not belong to the DisCos, they cannot exercise any right over the use of the items, neither should they bear liability for any incident that occurs thereafter.
“It is our responsibility as DisCos to make electricity infrastructure available and we do a lot of this. However, in situations where the demand is far more than supply due to shortage of funds, customers do step in to help their communities. Since privatisation, our members have invested considerably on improvements in their networks since 2013.
“However, in a reality where the absence of infrastructure was excruciatingly acute across the length and breadth of this country before this phase of our power reforms, and considering the huge cost of revamping inherited networks as well as the very critical need for power supply for homes and businesses, it is understandable when communities of customers decide to step in rather than take the option of waiting till resources needed to services their needs are appropriated by their respective Discos.
“The issue of community volunteering is very clearly stipulated by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). For those who follow NERC’s laid guidelines, there will be no argument at the end of the day,” Oduntan said.
He also said accusations surrounding disconnections and reconnection fees charged by Discos were unfair, saying disconnection is a legitimate recourse available to the service providers under certain conditions and the reconnection fee is a penalty to dissuade repeat offenders and cover cost.
“Now, most times, we hear complaints of by customers regarding disconnection. The truth is that there are clear grounds for disconnections. Disconnections are not random and there are clear guidelines stipulated by Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) under which disconnections can take place.
Disconnections can occurs when a customer owes accumulated bills of over 90 days. Other grounds for disconnection include when a customer is found engaging in energy theft or tampering with distribution equipment,” Oduntan said.
“It is statutory to charge a fee to cover the operations and to deter repeat offenders. This is not a practise that is restricted to Nigeria only. Time and resources are expended in both disconnecting and reconnecting a customer due to an act of the customer. If there is no penalty attached to that, then there is no deterrence,” he said.
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Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold
Joel Ajayi
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.
The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.
Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.
According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.
“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.
“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”
The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.
Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.
“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.
Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.
Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.
He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.
Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.
He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.
To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.
In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization
Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.
Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.
“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.
In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee
is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.
The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
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