NEWS
National Grid Collapse: Anambra, Enugu Govts seek Alternative Power Supply
Some state governments in the South East have embarked on ways to get alternative source of electricity supply following the incessant collapse of the national grid.
The national grid has collapsed no fewer than seven times between January and October, 2024, a situation worrisome to electricity consumers and the nation at large.
Survey on the development showed that customers have continued to groan over constant grid collapse and epileptic power supply in spite of paying higher for electricity services.
Most of the customers within Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu States, who have been “systematically” moved to Band-A without their consent, are pushing for the reverse to the former band as they complain “not getting value for money”.
An Enugu-based small scale industrialist, Mr Chimezie Nwafor, said that within the past one month it had been difficult to run his factory at maximum capacity as most of his machinery required voltage of power directly from electricity.
Nwafor noted that he welcomed the 24-hour uninterrupted power, simply called Band-A, but “it is now a regret that the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) and the Federal Government regulatory body failed to live up to what they assured”.
“The Federal and state governments should put efforts to make constant electricity power supply possible. It is doable and other countries of the world even within African countries have attained this height.
“Every industrialist wants value for money and we cannot get that if we pay so high a tariff and get disappointed,” he said.
A resident within Uwani area, Mr Chuks Ani, whose area have been placed on Band-A recently, noted that government always implement noble policies in the wrong way.
“As discussed in various electricity stakeholders and Town Hall meetings for years now, a 24-hour uninterrupted power supply should be provided for industrial and commercial concerns or areas and not the other way round to residential areas.
“As it stand, one wonders whether government genuinely want to check poverty as well as solve energy crisis in homes and rural communities with clear cut policies beneficial to all.
“The current policy and target of putting financially struggling families and households to Band-A and its attendant high tariff is suffocating,” Ani said.
On its part, Dr. Ernest Mupwaya, Acting Managing Director of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), said the company had deployed advanced ICT systems to constantly monitor its network; detecting upcoming and instant electrical faults within its franchise area.
“Over some years now, we have strengthened all our lines and tightened all loose ends as well as clear obstructions to our lines within our franchise area leading to stable and better supply,” he said.
He noted that with clear knowledge of the industry moving towards 24-hour uninterrupted supply, the company had successfully converted aluminum transformers to copper-wound transformers using reverse engineering.
The acting managing director said that reverse engineering on transformers had stabilized supply and allowed transformers to stand prolonged workload each day.
“This groundbreaking innovation has the potential for significant cost savings (for both the company and its customers),” he added.
Having issued license to Mainpower Electricity Distribution Limited, the Chairman, Enugu State Electricity Regulatory Commission (EERC), Mr Chijioke Okonkwo, said that with the Enugu State Electrification Law 2023 and electrification master-plan, the state would be a hub for electricity generation and distribution.
It could be recalled that recently, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, finally handed over regulatory power to the EERC.
With the development, Mainpower, a subsidiary of the EEDC, took over the electricity distribution operations in Enugu State after it was presented with an interim operating license to distribute electricity in Enugu State by EERC.
Okonkwo said that the issues of grid failure and epileptic supply would be a thing of the past as soon as the commission had developed a robust commercially viable, sustainable and reliable electricity market that served all the residents and industrial/commercial clusters.
He said that market feasibility had shown that Enugu State had the market viability not only to generate its electricity consumption, but the capacity to sell to other states and entities.
“What made the state lucrative for investment in the energy market is the high percentage of the underserved and unserved population that are in need of energy to run their businesses,” he said.
According to him, with investors playing in the electricity market in the state, the energy needs of the population would be solved while return-on-investment would be guaranteed since there exists willing buyers in the under-explored market.
In Anambra, Mr Julius Chukwuemeka, Commissioner for Power and Water Resources in Anambra, said that the state government was putting in place measures that would reduce its dependence on power from the national grid.
Chukwuemeka, who described the national grid source as “no longer sustainable” given its persistent failures, said legislative frameworks were on for a law to set up the Anambra Power Market and Anambra State Electricity Regulatory Commision.
He said both laws would help determine the energy demand of the state as well as prepare ground for electricity generation in the state.
The commissioner said the government was encouraging energy mix with emphasis on solar and renewable energy options.
“These options may be expensive at the point of installation but they have long term cost and reliability benefits.
“These energy mix options will take households and small businesses away from the national grid; and leave Industries and heavy equipment users on the hydro and therma powered national grid supply,” he said.
Meanwhile, residents of the state have expressed frustration over the incessant collapse of the national grid.
Mr Jude Anyene, an artisan, said the loss of power was putting additional cost on their businesses.
Anyene said there was no justification for the high and differential tariff charged by electricity distribution companies because every customer was in darkness.
“The solution to our electricity challenges is not charging exorbitant tariff or putting people in different bands just to make them pay more.
“We have power generation problem, there is not enough to go round and the infrastructure is decaying such that so much is lost in transmission,” he said.
Expressing the same frustration, Mr Caleb Agbo, an electricity stakeholder in Abakaliki, Ebonyi, stressed the need for constant discourse among electricity stakeholders to address the frequent collapse in the system.
Agbo called on major stakeholders and government to show more commitment in energy security in the country.
Mr Collins Odumba, another stakeholder, urged the Federal Government to overhual and review entire energy sector of the country and get investors that have the capacity to deliver and ensure constant power supply.
Mr Emmanuel Ogodo, an electricoty consumer living in Abakaliki, encouraged government to make prepaid meters available at a reduced cost.
“The cost of acquiring a three phase prepaid meter is between N150,000 and N200,000; while a single phase cost between N100,000 and N150,000,” Ogodo claimed.
Mr Kingsley Oko, a business owner, noted that activities of vandals and corrupt officials also contributed to the breakdown and constant collapse of the national grid.
“The power outage has continued to disrupt my business venture. If this trend continues, more businesses will crash,” Oko said. (NAN)
African delegates attending seminars in China have condemned reported xenophobic attacks against foreign African nationals in South Africa and called for greater unity across the continent.
The delegates made the condemnation on the sidelines of training programmes organised by the Academy for International Business Officials (AIBO) under China’s Ministry of Commerce.
They described the reported attacks as disturbing and contrary to the ideals of Pan-Africanism, solidarity, and peaceful coexistence.
Yusupha Bojang of The Gambia’s National Council for Civic Education said Africans must see themselves as one people irrespective of colonial-era boundaries.
“We first have to recognise that in Africa we are all one. These boundaries are artificial creations. We should treat each other as brothers and sisters,” he said.
Bojang said frustrations over domestic challenges should not be directed at fellow Africans lawfully residing in another country.
“If you have any problem, it should be channelled to your government, not innocent citizens legitimately carrying out their activities,” he said.
He urged Africans to speak with one voice against xenophobia.
“We need to unite. When we see wrongs happening, we should all come out to condemn them because it can happen to anybody,” he added.
Also speaking, Jallow Gibbi, a journalist with Dunia Radio in The Gambia, said he was saddened by reports of Africans attacking fellow Africans.
“When I watched the news, I was embarrassed to see Africans fighting Africans. It is not humanitarian and it should not happen,” he said.
Gibbi called on African leaders and international organisations to promote peace and unity across the continent.
“We are all the same. One Africa, one people. We should unite and stay together,” he said.
He said information from Gambian diplomatic authorities indicated that no Gambian citizen had been reported affected, while advising nationals to remain vigilant.
Mr Richard Jombi James of South Sudan’s Ministry of Culture, Museum and National Heritage described African unity as essential to the continent’s progress.
“We are all Africans from the north to the south, east and west. We cannot attack ourselves. We are one Africa, one people,” he said.
Kawu Muhammed Lawan of Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy said the reports were particularly troubling given the support many African countries provided during South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle.
“Looking at all the efforts other African countries made to end apartheid in South Africa, it is embarrassing to witness hostility against fellow Africans today,” he said.
Lawan urged African leaders to take practical steps to protect citizens across the continent and strengthen regional integration.
Similarly, Emmanuel Nok, a legal practitioner with South Sudan’s Ministry of Culture, Museum and National Heritage, said Africans should reject violence and discrimination against one another.
“We feel hurt as Africans when we see fellow Africans being hunted by other Africans. We should condemn such behaviour because it goes against the spirit of African brotherhood,” he said.
Nok noted that many African countries host citizens from neighbouring states and stressed that peaceful coexistence remained vital for economic development and regional cooperation.
The delegates called on governments, regional organisations and civil society groups to promote tolerance, strengthen social cohesion and uphold the principles of African unity.
They also urged Africans to focus on common development goals, saying stronger cooperation would advance peace, prosperity and integration across the continent.
From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The Kogi State Government said it will reach over 240,000 children aged 5–14 years in 39 wards across 15 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the 2026 Schistosomiasis Mass Administration of Medicines (MAM) exercise.
The campaign is scheduled for June 22–30, 2026.
The target was unveiled at a two-day state-level planning meeting convened Wednesday by the Ministry of Health, Department of Public Health – Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), Control Programme in collaboration with Sightsavers.
The meeting aimed at developing strategies for 2026 treatment targets, validate drug quantification, strengthen micro-planning, and finalize the implementation timeline for schistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia.
Declaring the meeting open, the Commissioner for Health Dr Abdullazeez Adams, said schistosomiasis remains a public health challenge in Kogi, affecting school-age children, farmers, fishermen, and communities near freshwater bodies.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary Maji Enoch, the commissioner noted the disease reduces school attendance, affects productivity, and impacts health outcomes.
He said the meeting would review performance from previous rounds, strengthen social mobilization and training of teachers and Community Drug Distributors, CDDs, and focus on data quality, equity, and beneficiary safety.
He commended Sightsavers and the Federal Ministry of Health for technical and financial support, and urged LGAs to maintain strong collaboration “to reach the last child in the last community.”
The National Programme Manager, Dr Jacob Solomon of the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), said Nigeria is working toward WHO’s 2030 elimination target for schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthiasis.
He described Kogi’s progress since baseline mapping as “significant” and urged participants to remain diligent to reach the “last mile.”
Solomon confirmed the programme targets all children 5–14 years, whether in school or out of school.
The State NTD Coordinator, Musa Momohjimoh, said the intervention will use Praziquantel in 39 wards identified as endemic from a 2015 survey and revised WHO strategy.
According to him, teachers will administer drugs in schools while health workers supervise, and CDDs will reach out-of-school children.
He said radio jingles and engagement of religious and community leaders will drive awareness.
Sightsavers Programme Officer, Phoebe Hindan, said treatment will cover only wards with demonstrated need based on evidence.
She described Praziquantel as safe and effective, used in Kogi for over 10 years, and urged parents to allow children to participate.
She noted misconceptions have caused refusals in the past, and warned untreated schistosomiasis can lead to other complications in the future.
The government said the campaign will cover public, private schools and out-of-school children, with parents directed to contact the State Ministry of Health for enquiries.
Salihu Usman, a participant and former Education Secretary of Kogi LGEA, assured the government of the participants’ commitment to a result-oriented MAM exercise that will deliver on its goals and objectives.
From Sylvia Udegbunam, Enugu
The Anambra State Government, under the leadership of Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has extended the “War Against Fake Native Doctors” to fake pastors and other individuals masquerading as genuine men and women of God while engaging in criminal practices.
This is disclosed in a public announcement signed by the Commissioner for information and value reformation Anambra state, Law Mefor, noting that it is part of the efforts of the Solution Government to rid the state of all forms of criminality and sanitise both traditional worship and religious practices in order to restore sanity, law and order in the state.
To this end, the government is calling on Ndị Anambra and all residents of the state with credible information on pastors, churches, or so-called “men of God” involved in criminality, extortion, fraud, deception, or any act that endangers lives and the peace of our communities or misleads the people in the state to please speak up. All information will be treated with absolute confidentiality.
Despite the negative claims made during the campaigns against the effort to clean up criminals pretending to be traditional healers and real religious leaders, this effort will actually protect the true freedom of traditional worship and religious practice.
Let us work together to take back our state from criminals hiding under religion, culture and tradition.
Call +2348034182108 or 5111 if you have any useful information.
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