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Senate’s Probe of GENCOs and DISCOs

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  • Nigeria’s electricity has remained one of the greatest challenges to the nation’s quest for industrial and technological advancement.

The nation’s  electricity supply has  been grossly   inadequate, unaffordable and unreliable.

Statistics have it that 76 million  of its citizens, or 40.
7% of the country ‘s population, which is more than twice the population of Canada  are not connected to the national power grid.
For those connected, power supply is still a serious problem as supply remains largely epileptic.

No doubt, the   country’s  populace  and industries cannot  be globally  competitive without access to affordable and reliable power.

It was with the aim of improving power in the country that the Federal Government in 2013 segmented the nation’s power into generation [Gencos] and distribution[Discos] companies. The result of this initiative has been  abysmal  as the power situation in Africa’s most populous nation continues to deteriorate.

 It is for this, that we welcome the Senate’s decision to probe these  companies, which are defeating the essence of their establishment. The Senate recently mandated its Committee on Power to investigate the activities of power generating and distribution companies with a view to unraveling the cause of unsteady power supply in the country. The investigating committee has four weeks to submit its report to the Senate for consideration. The decision by the upper chamber to probe power generation, transmission and distribution in the country was reached sequel to a motion considered during plenary last Tuesday.

 Sponsor of the motion, Senator Chukwuka Utazi (PDP, Enugu North) had argued that  Nigeria, with a population of 200 million and an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent per annum, and the  seventh most populous nation on earth, has low power generation and distribution  capacity grossly inadequate for  its population and Gross Domestic Product, [GDP].He further argued that this  cannot place the country to compete favourably in terms of development with other nations.

He, therefore, called on the Federal Government to find solutions to the power deficits faced by the country. The Lawmaker  gave example of  Indonesia and Philippines, which  he  noted that both countries with a population of 267 million and 107 million respectively, have installed power capacity of 60,000 megawatts and generating capacity of 42,465 megawatts as well as installed capacity of 20,055 megawatts and generating capacity of 16,271 megawatts.

While expressing optimism that Nigeria can set a realisable target of generating capacity of 100,000 megawatts in the next 10  years, he  said same could be achieved through a mix of energy sources such as natural gas, hydro, coal, wind and renewable energy.

We call on the Committee on Power and indeed, the entire Senate  to immediately convoke a  stakeholders summit  to brainstorm on the nation’s power supply, which appears to have defied all solutions to make it work.  

 We equally agree with The lawmaker’s  advice to  the Federal Government to build on existing policy frameworks inherited from past administrations. Accordingly, the Senate urged the Federal Government to upgrade the transmission infrastructure of Nigeria’s power grid for a more efficient transmission of power. While advocating for 100,000 megawatts installed capacity to match the size of Nigeria’s economy and population, the upper chamber urged the Federal Government to break-up the country’s power distribution companies into smaller, more manageable distribution companies for optimal performance. The task of fixing the nation’s power is a serious one, and as a result the Senate as well as the Federal Government and the stakeholders should give it desired attention and support to succeed. 

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Man City Strike Twice Late on to Beat Bournemouth

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Manchester City scored two late goals to earn Enzo Maresca a win in his first Premier League game in charge – and deny Marco Rose the perfect start as Bournemouth boss.

The Cherries took the first-half lead through Marcus Tavernier, who was left in loads of space to slam in after Evanilson’s incisive low ball across the area.

Erling Haaland, usually at his most prolific in August, missed a host of chances for City as they looked set for a frustrating afternoon.

But Marc Guehi, playing in defensive midfield for only the third time in his career, nodded in Rayan Cherki’s corner with six minutes to go.

And it got even worse for Bournemouth when Josko Gvardiol guided a shot into the bottom corner in injury time.

The goal was initially disallowed for offside, but given after a video assistant referee review.

It was Bournemouth’s first defeat in any competition since January, ending their club-record 18-game unbeaten run.

City showed improvement from the side who were bashed 3-0 by Arsenal in last Sunday’s Community Shield – but for most of this game it looked as if Maresca was going to start with consecutive defeats.

Replacing a legend is always difficult – as David Moyes experienced when Sir Alex Ferguson left neighbours Manchester United in 2013 – and the late comeback will come as a major relief in their first Premier League game without Pep Guardiola in a decade.

City did not exactly promote from within when hiring Maresca, who quit as Chelsea manager at the start of 2026, but the Italian was Guardiola’s City assistant in 2022-23 and would perhaps be seen as something of a continuity candidate.

It was a very shaky start though and they went 1-0 down at home on the opening day of a Premier League campaign for the first time since 1995-96 – the season they ended up being relegated.

Maresca’s team selection confused many, with six players who have played most of their City games in defence starting on Sunday – including Guehi in midfield.

But all’s well that ends well and Guehi looked as if he had rescued a point before defender Gvardiol added two more from another Cherki pass.

Things would have been more comfortable if Haaland had brought his shooting boots.

The Norwegian has scored 22 goals in 14 Premier League games in the month of August – but failed to take any of his five chances.

Bournemouth fans would have feared a dip after enjoying the best season in their history last campaign. Sixth place took them into Europe for the first time ever.

And it was a surprise when boss Andoni Iraola announced in April he would be leaving in the summer – eventually joining Liverpool.

Ex-Salzburg and Leipzig boss Rose was confirmed soon after – replacing Iraola at the end of last season, giving him plenty of time to watch from a distance and get to know his new team.

Only one of the side who started against City was a new signing, with Portuguese defender Antonio Silva the replacement for Marcos Senesi, who left for Tottenham.

The Cherries showed plenty of the aggressive, positive play that they produced under Iraola thanks to such dangerous attackers on the break – including Rayan, Evanilson and Tavernier, who all linked up well for the opening goal.

Letting the lead slip late on will be hugely frustrating and ends their long unbeaten run, but Rose, and Cherries supporters, should still have seen plenty to encourage them from a game they would not have expected to win.

And if they had picked up Guehi from a corner maybe they would have done.

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Edo Assembly Dissolves Standing C’ttees, Constitutes Panel to Probe Ex-Speaker

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The Edo House of Assembly on Tuesday dissolved all its standing committees and constituted an investigative panel to probe allegations levelled against the former Speaker, Blessing Agbebaku.

The new Speaker, Yekini Idaiye, announced the decision during the plenary session.

He said that the dissolution became necessary to enable the house to “re-evaluate legislative duties, improve administrative efficiency and give members new committee experience”.

Idaiye subsequently inaugurated a five-member ad-hoc committee to investigate Agbebaku over allegations of corruption, including inflated procurement costs for cars.

The committee, which was mandated to report back in two weeks, is chaired by Bright Iyamu.

Other members are representatives of Akoko Edo II; Ovia North East II; Etsako East; and Esan North East II.

Recall that Agbebaku resigned from office on Monday, August 17, following allegations of corruption and financial impropriety against him.

The house also received and adopted reports on the screening of nominees for key state commissions.

Dr David Osifo was confirmed as a member of the Edo Judicial Service Commission, while Oscar Onaiwu was confirmed as a member of the Local Government Service Commission.

The house also received a letter from Gov. Monday Okpebholo for the screening and confirmation of nominees for the Chairman and members of the Edo Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Shittu Shaibu was named to chair the screening committee for the nominees.

The house later adjourned sitting until August 19, 2026. 

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Brain Jotter Cries out after Harassment by Lagos Touts

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Nigerian content creator, Brain Jotter, has cried out on social media after being harassed by Lagos touts, popularly known as ‘agberos’.

Brain Jotter lamented the incident in a post shared on his Instagram page.

Expressing frustration, the content creator shared a video showing the moment he was harassed in his car by a group of thugs on a Lagos road.

He was refused free passage by the touts who were demanding settlement from him.

In the video shared by Brain Jotter, one of the touts was heard boasting, “I be lion”.

Lamenting the incident, the content creator wrote, “Lion no dey use eyes see goat. Nigerian zoo keepers are the worst. We lack good wild-life and they let a lion escape from their zoo. This is sad.”

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