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Tariff war; FG intervenes as states, Discos’ rift deepens

Published

5 months ago

August 29, 2025

As s the crisis between states and electricity distribution companies continues to degenerate over who has the power to fix electricity tariffs, the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, has summoned all the stakeholders to a meeting scheduled for next week.

Energy commissioners of state governments, under their umbrella body known as the Forum of Commissioners for Power and Energy in Nigeria, have repeatedly insisted that the Electricity Act, 2023 (Amended), has empowered state governments to regulate their respective power markets.

But power distribution companies, under the aegis of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, insisted that, although the Act enabled the states to regulate their power markets, the state governments lack the power to put a price on cross-border electricity.

As a result of this, neither the states nor the Discos are ready to shift ground over who has the authority to regulate electricity tariffs. As state regulators make moves to design tariffs for the electricity markets in their domains, starting with Enugu State, power distribution companies declared that this cannot work.

The tariff ordered by the Enugu Electricity Regulatory Commission recently also sparked the reactions of power generation companies, including the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, as the Gencos argued that states have no power to dictate the cost of power from the national grid.

To de-escalate the situation, the national regulator, NERC, has invited all the actors involved in the imbroglio to a meeting scheduled to be held next week in Lagos, as the Discos declared again on Thursday that the states should not destroy the power sector with the quest to regulate electricity tariffs.

The General Manager of Public Affairs at NERC, Dr Usman Abba-Arabi, told one of our correspondents in an interview on Thursday that the meeting would discuss the matters and proffer solutions to them.

The NERC spokesman maintained that invitations have been sent to the state regulatory commissions, the distribution companies, and other stakeholders in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

“The next Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry stakeholders meeting is scheduled for next week in Lagos. State Regulatory Commissions have been invited to attend. The Discos and other industry players will all be in attendance. It’s a forum where industry issues will be discussed and solutions proffered,” he stated.

Abba-Arabi stated that the meeting is purely for the industry and would be done without the attention of the press.

Discos talk tough

The crisis between the Discos and state governments started in July when the Enugu Electricity Regulatory Commission announced that it had slashed the Band A tariff from N209 per kilowatt-hour to N160/kWh, ordering MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited to implement this from August 1, 2025.

As the new tariff regime began on the stated date, MainPower’s energy supplier, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, had to cut supply to Enugu by 50 per cent, leaving many customers in darkness. MainPower explained that EEDC had calculated that implementing the tariff cut would lead to monthly losses exceeding N1bn, undermining its obligations to the market.

Reacting to the development during an interview with one of our correspondents on Thursday, the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Sunday Oduntan, warned states and their newly established regulatory agencies not to destroy the power sector.

Oduntan, who is also the spokesman of the Discos, argued that what the Enugu Electricity Regulatory Commission was planning would not work, saying it was an attempt to draw back the sector. According to him, the Electricity Act, 2023 (Amended), allows the states to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity within their respective states, but does not give them the power to put a price on cross-border electricity from the national grid.

He said states would only control electricity tariffs when they start generating, transmitting, and distributing the same. He accused the EERC of having plans to regulate the cost of a product that does not belong to the state regulator.

“The Electricity Act, 2023 (Amended), allows the states to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity within their respective states. That is just the summary of that law. It is to enable them to take care of their own electricity issues. Now, what happened in Enugu was that the electricity regulatory commission in the state wanted to control the price of a product that does not belong to them.

“Let me explain what I mean: if they generate electricity in Enugu State, and they transmit and distribute it within Enugu State, they have the right to fix the price. But the law is very clear: they are not in charge of cross-border tariffs. What do I mean by cross-border tariffs? This is a product that has crossed outside the borders of your state, for instance, from the national grid.

“So, you cannot put a price on such a product. That product has a cost of production. That is what they were seeking to do, and they are just shooting themselves in the foot; it is not going to work! You can control your electricity, not the electricity that belongs to another person,” Oduntan insisted.

He warned that the power sector would collapse if electricity was sold below the cost of production. He stressed that if the states failed to listen to other stakeholders on the issue, they would only pull down the sector.

“So, when the regulator in the state says the Disco there should sell at a lower price, the question to be asked is this: ‘Is that price below the cost price?’ If it is below the cost price, then the company will collapse. So, it won’t work. They cannot do it. If they insist, then they will destroy the power sector,” he said.

Oduntan added that Enugu could generate power from coal and transmit and distribute it at no cost to the consumers as palliatives, but not the energy from the grid. “They (Enugu) can generate from coal, transmit and distribute it, and can even give it out as palliatives or free of charge to their residents. But not for energy that comes from outside their borders. That is the point. Cross-border tariffs are not in their hands,” he insisted.

States respond

Meanwhile, the Forum of Commissioners for Power and Energy in Nigeria said it is only concerned about issues that could push the power sector forward. The Chairman of FOCPEN and Commissioner of Power and Renewable Energy in Cross River State, Prince Eka Williams, said the forum would not banter words with the Discos, saying, “We are not in a war.”

According to him, the forum is more concerned about the efforts being made to light up every home in Nigeria. He said the forum will work with other stakeholders to proffer solutions to the challenges in the energy sector, saying he would not comment on what Oduntan said.

After complaints of blackouts and vending glitches, MainPower restored power to Enugu residents, but at the old cost. The Disco ignored the new tariff order that slashed the Band A tariff to charge N209/kWh. Electricity customers in the state said they now pay the old rate after power was restored by MainPower.

However, the EERC kicked against this. It accused MainPower of tariff breach while threatening sanctions. In a public notice, the commission stated that it has come to its attention that Mainpower Electricity Distribution Company Limited has reverted to charging its Band A customers N209.50/kWh, as against the commission’s order of 160.40/kWh.

The commission expressed displeasure that “this violation” persists despite prior directives from the commission mandating strict compliance with the tariff order. “Such actions constitute a breach of the Tariff Order by Mainpower Electricity Distribution Limited,” the commission said, urging Band A customers in Enugu State to report overbilling.

“Band A customers who have been billed above the approved rate are urged to report the discrepancy to the commission with evidence of the breach for necessary regulatory action, which may involve imposing appropriate sanctions on MainPower,” the EERC warned.

Recall that NERC had earlier told the Enugu regulator that any state that wanted to slash tariffs should be ready to pay the shortfall. “As states do not have jurisdiction over the national grid and over electric power stations established under federal laws/operating under licences issued by the commission, they must holistically incorporate the wholesale costs of grid supply to their states without any qualification or deviation in their design of tariffs for end-use customers in order not to distort the dynamics of the market or be prepared to make a policy intervention by way of a subsidy for any deviation in the tariff structure that distorts the wholesale generation, transmission and legacy financing costs in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry,” NERC said in July.

But Enugu and other states disagreed with claims by NERC that sub-national entities cannot fix electricity tariffs because they do not generate and transmit electricity. The Special Adviser to the Enugu Governor on Power, Joe Aneke, said states have the power to design tariffs as far as distribution is concerned.

Aneke said the new tariff by the Enugu Electricity Regulatory Commission did not tamper with the costs of generation and transmission, saying it based its calculations on distribution only.

The Forum of Commissioners for Power and Energy in Nigeria said in a statement that NERC does not have overriding regulatory authority over electricity distribution and tariff setting, noting that the fifth constitutional alteration and the 2023 Act give states exclusive jurisdiction over electricity distribution, whether connected to the national grid or not, emphasising the power of states to adjust tariffs.

Aneke clarified that the EERC’s new tariff would not distort the electricity market because it did not affect generation and transmission. “It’s possible to reduce tariffs, and on the other hand, it’s equally possible to increase them, but these are subject to facts, figures, and numbers. Why am I saying so? Recall that the subnationals do not regulate generation. And in this tariff determination, which Enugu did, the cost of generation was not tampered with at all. It still stays as it is because we know we don’t regulate generation, and we don’t regulate transmission. That is the work of NERC. None of those costs were touched.

“So, why is it not possible for state regulatory commissions to fix tariffs, having been given the law, having the power, having the numbers, and having jaw-jawed with the subcos, with their figures on the table? Let me go to the granular. Everybody here appreciates the fact that there are certain variables and costs that are used or considered before tariffs are determined. If these figures are laid bare, you see that some are not realistic, just to avoid using certain words, and some cannot be sustained. The argument of the presentation cannot be sustained,” Aneke said.

Giving an example, he said MainPower claimed a sum of N9bn for recovery, but the figure was not up to that.

“For instance, a lump sum that was presented at about N9bn. When we got into the nitty-gritty, we looked at the facts, the figures, the numbers, the customer numbers, and the so-called lifeline. We have now discovered that what they presented wasn’t correct. They tacitly understood that and accepted it,” he said.

However, MainPower, in a petition to the commission, said the tariff order published on July 18 was not agreed upon by the parties and that the same did not comply with Regulation No. EERC/R004.

The Disco averred that Section 4.1(c) provides that “in order to avoid ‘gold-plating’ in the tariff using rate of return regulation, the licensee shall be required to review costs with the commission. It is the cost agreed with the commission that shall be allowed for the operator to use in the tariff model for the determination of the price that shall apply in contracts.

“This is because the value chain of the electricity business in Enugu State shall be subject to contracts, and prices shall be determined based on the applicable methodology published by the commission on its website. The review process for the cost shall be as prescribed in the Schedules to these Regulations.”

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US Justice dept releases documents, images, videos from Epstein files

Published

9 hours ago

January 31, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

The US Justice Department began releasing millions of new pages on Friday from the Jeffrey Epstein files along with photos and videos, adding fuel to the politically explosive case that has dogged President Donald Trump.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the White House played no role in the review of the extensive files related to the convicted sex offender, a former friend of Trump.

“They did not tell this department how to do our review, what to look for, what to redact, what to not redact,” Blanche said at a press conference.

The Justice Department said some of the documents being released contained “untrue and sensationalist claims” about the 79-year-old Trump submitted to the FBI before the 2020 presidential election.

But Blanche — who previously served as Trump’s personal lawyer — dismissed suggestions that embarrassing material about the president had been redacted from the more than three million documents, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos being released on Friday.

“We did not protect President Trump,” he said. “We didn’t protect or not protect anybody.”

Blanche said all images of girls and women were being redacted aside from those of Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of trafficking underage girls for Epstein and is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

However, a statement by survivors of Epstein’s alleged abuse claimed identifying information about them still remained in the files, “while the men who abused us remain hidden and protected.”

The letter signed by 19 individuals, some using aliases or initials, demanded “the full release of the Epstein files” and that Attorney General Pam Bondi directly address the matter when she testifies before Congress next month.

A wealthy US financier, Epstein died in a New York prison cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for sex trafficking of underage girls. His death was ruled a suicide.

Previous document releases have shed light on Epstein’s ties to top business executives such as Microsoft’s Bill Gates, celebrities such as filmmaker Woody Allen, academics and politicians, including Trump and former president Bill Clinton.

In a draft email among the documents published on Friday, Epstein said Gates had engaged in extramarital affairs, a claim the Gates Foundation denied in a statement to The New York Times.

“These claims — from a proven, disgruntled liar — are absolutely absurd and completely false,” it said.

In other emails, Epstein connected Steve Tisch, 76, producer of the movies “Forrest Gump” and “Risky Business” and the co-owner of the New York Giants football team, with multiple women.

In one exchange with Tisch, Epstein describes a woman as “russian, and rarely tells the full truth, but fun.”

– Conspiracy theories –

Trump’s right-wing base has long been obsessed by the Epstein saga and conspiracy theories that the financier oversaw a sex trafficking ring for the world’s elite.

Only one person — Epstein’s former girlfriend Maxwell — has ever been charged in connection with his crimes, and Blanche appeared to play down expectations that the latest files would lead to further prosecutions.

Trump and Clinton both figure prominently in the records published so far but neither has been accused of wrongdoing.

A Republican-led House panel voted recently to launch contempt of Congress proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton over their refusal to testify before its probe into Epstein.

Trump, who used to move in the same social circles as Epstein in Florida and New York, fought for months to prevent release of the vast trove of documents about the disgraced financier.

But a rebellion inside his Republican Party forced him to sign off on a law mandating release of all the documents.

Trump has given varying accounts of why he eventually fell out with Epstein. He has criticized the file dumps, expressing concern that people who “innocently met” Epstein over the years risked having their reputations smeared.

The Epstein Files Transparency Act called for all of the documents held by the Justice Department to be published by December 19.

Blanche said Friday’s release “marks the end of a very comprehensive document identification and review process to ensure transparency to the American people.”

He blamed the delay on the need to painstakingly carry out redactions that protected the identities of Epstein’s more than 1,000 alleged victims.

AFP

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Venezuelan interim president announces proposal for mass amnesty

Published

10 hours ago

January 31, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

Venezuela’s acting president announced on Friday a proposal for mass amnesty in the country, in her latest major reform since the US toppling of Nicolas Maduro just weeks ago.

Delcy Rodriguez, in a speech at the Venezuelan Supreme Court attended by top government officials, said she will propose a “general amnesty law covering the entire period of political violence from 1999 to the present.”

Leftist revolutionary Hugo Chavez assumed the presidency in 1999, and was succeeded upon his death in 2013 by Maduro, who oversaw an increasingly authoritarian government and whose two re-elections were widely dismissed as fraudulent.

“This law will serve to heal the wounds left by political confrontation, fueled by violence and extremism. It will allow us to put justice back on track in our country,” Rodriguez said, also announcing a “major national consultation for a new judicial system.”

She also announced plans to close the notorious El Helicoide prison in Caracas, where rights groups say political prisoners were tortured by Maduro’s intelligence services.

The massive facility, originally built as a shopping mall, will be turned into a “sports, cultural and commercial center for police families and neighboring communities,” Rodriguez said.

A mother interviewed by AFP near El Helicoide was overjoyed that her son, imprisoned inside, may soon be released under the law.

“It’s wonderful! I haven’t heard from my son in six months, so, damn it, this is a huge joy, it’s an amnesty, my God, it’s total liberation,” said Betsy Orellana, 63.

– Wary opposition –

Formerly Maduro’s vice president, Rodriguez, 56, has quickly moved in less than four weeks in power to overhaul Venezuelan society in ways sought by the United States, earning high praise from US President Donald Trump.

Along with her brother, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez, she has passed a new law opening up the country’s critical oil sector to private investments — a key demand of Trump.

The move on Thursday was almost immediately followed by a rollback on US sanctions targeting Venezuela’s oil industry.

The government also agreed on January 8, five days after Maduro was seized in a deadly US military operation, to free inmates considered political prisoners by rights groups.

Families — many of whom began camping outside the prisons — and rights groups have criticized the slow pace of the releases, with the Foro Penal NGO counting less than 300 in total released since January 8.

Opposition figures in Venezuela have voiced reserved optimism at the changes taking place, wary that Maduro’s closest allies still remain in power.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado said Friday that Rodriguez’s amnesty proposal came only after she was pushed by Washington.

“This is not a voluntary gesture by the regime, but a response to pressure from the United States government. And I hope that the prisoners will soon be able to be with their families,” she posted on social media.

Opposition lawmaker Tomas Guanipa, whose two brothers are imprisoned, said he hope the amnesty would end “an era of repression.”

“May this be the beginning of a path that leads us to freedom and democracy, definitively and forever,” he told AFP in an interview at his home in Caracas.

– Americans freed –

US authorities on Friday announced that all Americans known to be held prisoner in Venezuela had been released.

The announcement came hours after the release of Peruvian-American political prisoner Arturo Gallino Rullier, whom the Foro Penal group said was on his way to the United States.

For years, Venezuela has routinely arrested foreigners and domestic opposition actors on a range of charges from spying to plotting attacks — charges critics dismiss as fabricated.

In a sign of Trump’s satisfaction with the new Venezuelan authorities, his administration lifted a ban on US flights to the South American country.

And after years of the US embassy being shuttered, Washington is also preparing to re-establish its diplomatic presence in Caracas.

Seasoned diplomat Laura Dogu was recently named US charge d’affaires for Venezuela — the highest level representative below an ambassador.

Dogu is expected to arrive in Caracas on Saturday, diplomatic sources told AFP.

AFP

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Osun LG Accounts: Court issues arrest warrants against bank

Published

10 hours ago

January 31, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

A Chief Magistrate’s Court sitting in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, has issued arrest warrants against the United Bank for Africa Plc and four of its senior officials over the alleged illegal operation and maintenance of bank accounts in the name of the 30 local government councils in the state.

The case, marked MOS/601c/2025 and filed by the Osun State Government, was heard on Friday in Osogbo.

In a Certified True Copy of the order titled “Warrant for Arrest of Defendant Who Has Disobeyed Summons (General Title – Form No. 1)”, addressed to the Osun State Commissioner of Police, the court stated in part, “Complaint has been made that the defendant(s) did allow unauthorised persons to operate and maintain 30 accounts opened in favour of the 30 Local Government Councils in Osun State with UBA Bank Plc.

“And the defendant(s) were thereupon summoned to appear before the Chief Magistrate’s Court of Osogbo. An oath has been made that the defendant(s) were duly served with the summons but did not appear, and that such complaint is true.

“You are hereby commanded to bring the defendant(s) before the Magistrate’s Court forthwith to answer to the said complaint or be further dealt with according to law.”

The matter has been adjourned to February 10, 2026, for trial.

The defendants in the suit are United Bank for Africa Plc; its Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba; the Company Secretary and Group Legal Adviser, Billy Odum; and the Deputy Managing Director, Chukwuma Nweke.

According to the charge sheet, the Osun State Government filed a 31-count charge against the bank and its officials, with each count relating to alleged infractions connected to the opening and operation of bank accounts for the state’s 30 local government councils.

In count one, the prosecution alleged that the defendants, on or about December 9, 2025, and on subsequent days, at Olonkoro, Osogbo branch of the UBA, conspired to commit a felony by opening, operating, and maintaining what it described as illegal Osun State Local Government Council accounts.

The alleged offence, according to the charge is said to be contrary to and punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code, Cap 34, Volume 2, Laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2002.

The defendants were further accused of allowing the opening, operation, and maintenance of local government accounts “by unknown private individuals as signatories,” despite the Local Government Service Commission having formally introduced Directors of Administration and General Services, as well as Directors of Finance of the councils, as the authorised signatories to the statutory accounts.

The prosecution said the action constituted an offence contrary to Sections 2 and 3(1) and (2), and punishable under Section 5(1) and (2) of the Osun State Local Government Accounts Administration Law, 2025.

Court documents show that the remaining counts similarly relate to the alleged unlawful opening and operation of accounts connected to all 30 local government councils in Osun State.

At the last sitting in December 2025, the Chief Magistrate, Mr A. A. Adeyeba, ordered that the defendants be served through their various email addresses and other substituted means in newspapers. He subsequently adjourned the case to yesterday, January 30, 2026, for hearing.