The Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company says it has reduced the tariff for customers under Band A classification to N206.80 per kilowatt-hour (kwh).

On April 3, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved an increase in electricity tariff for customers under the Band A category to N225 per kwh — from N66. 

The commission said customers under the classification are those who receive 20 hours of electricity supply daily. 

Announcing the cut in a circular on Monday, Ikeja Electric said the new tariff rate will be effective from May 6, 2024.

Details later…

The commissioner for physical planning and urban development in Lagos, Oluyinka Olumide, says 80 percent of buildings in the Ibeju Lekki-Epe corridor have no government approval.

The Lagos government has been facing backlash for the demolition of buildings and shanties across the state.

Tokunbo Wahab, commissioner for environment in Lagos, has repeatedly said the demolished structures were erected in contravention of the city’s masterplan, were never approved by the relevant agencies, and occluded drainage channels.

In an interview with journalists, Olumide said despite the rigorous procedures involved in securing government approval, property developers and owners are still circumventing due process.

“Just last Thursday and Friday, my team and I were in the Ibeju Lekki and Epe axis and you would agree that anybody passing through that corridor would see a lot of estates marked,” he said.

“We went there, and I can tell you that from what we saw, over 80 percent of them do not have approval.

“The procedure to get approval is first to get the planning information, as to what those areas have been zoned for. In this case, what we have is agricultural land, and people now go to their families to buy agricultural land.

“Of course, those lands would be sold because those families do not know the use such land would be put to.

“The next thing to do is the fence permit. If you missed the earlier information on not knowing the area zoning, at the point of getting the fence permit, you would be able to detect what the area is zoned for. After that, the layout permits a large expanse of land.

“So, you can see all these layers. But people still go ahead to start advertising. Some have even gone to the extent of displaying the sizes they want to sell. Imagine someone in the diaspora who wants to send money without any knowledge.

“Then, no approval is eventually gotten. Even if they pass the assignment and the survey to them, we would not grant the individual permit, because that area is not zoned for that purpose.”

On Sunday, Wahab said owners of recently demolished property in Maryland had been served notices since 2021.

“We are not just doing demolitions. The law allows us to remove encumbrances on the right of way of the drainage channels,” Wahab said.

Chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Sunday, showered glowing tributes on the late ex-President Umaru Yar’Adua 14 years after his passing.

Yar’Adua was Katsina State’s governor in Nigeria’s North-West geopolitical zone from May 1999 to May 2007. He won the 2007 presidential election and was sworn in to succeed his partyman, ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Yar’Adua was Nigeria’s President from May 2007 to May 2010 when he died of an undisclosed illness at 58. Following his death, his deputy and ex-Bayelsa State governor Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in as President.

Fourteen years after his passing, friends and political associates of the late Katsina-born politician reminisced about the impact and legacy of the late President.

Aminu Tambuwal, a former Governor of Sokoto State who currently represents Sokoto South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, described the late Yar’Adua as a “true democrat”.

“The late President Yar’Adua was a man of strong character who deeply respected the rule of law. He was a patriot who believed in institutionalizing democracy and, more importantly, in the unity of Nigeria,” he wrote on X.

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki said, “Today, I remember what he stood for and how he worked towards it. I remember his focus on building strong institutions—so that the very DNA of our democracy would be founded on laws and best practices, not on the whims of men.”

A former Senator who represented Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, said the late President “lived a simple life and made life easier and better for the downtrodden in the country”.

The late President’s brother and Senator representing Katsina Central in the National Assembly, Abdulaziz Yar’Adua, said his late sibling was “an exceptional leader and an icon of democracy”.

Former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, said, “Though his tenure was cut tragically short, Yar’Adua’s commitment to upholding the rule of law, fighting corruption, and fostering dialogue across all regions left an enduring legacy. ”

The Governor of Katsina State, Dikko Radda, convened a prayer day in honour of the memory of the late President, the governor’s aide, Isah Miqdad, said on X.