The number of electricity consumers rose by 200,000 from 11.27 million in the first quarter of 2023 to 11,47 million in the second quarter of the year. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated in its Nigeria’s electricity report for the second quarter of 2023 released in Abuja on Friday that the increase was by 1.84 per cent. The report focused on energy billed, revenue generated, and customers of electricity distribution companies during the period under review. It stated that on a year-on-year basis, the number of electricity customers increased by 6.17 per cent in the second quarter of 2023 from the 10.81 million reported in the corresponding period in 2022. It added that in the second quarter of 2023, the number of metered customers stood at 5.47 million from the 5.31 million recorded in the first quarter of the year, a 3.10 per cent increase. “On a year-on-year basis, this figure grew by 10.40 per cent from the 4.96 million figure reported in the second quarter of 2022,’’ the NBS stated. Similarly, estimated electricity customers stood at six million in the second quarter of 2023, showing an increase of 0.72 per cent over the 5.96 million consumers recorded in the first quarter of the year. On a year-on-year basis, estimated customers increased by 2.58 per cent in the second quarter of 2023 from the 5.85 million recorded in the corresponding period in 2022. The NBS stated also that electricity distribution companies collected N263.08 billion in revenue in the second quarter of 2023, an increase over the N247.33 billion they collected in the first quarter. It added that on a year-on-year basis, revenue collected rose by 39.63 per cent over the N188.41 billion collected in the second quarter of 2022. It stated that electricity supply increased to 5,909 (Gwh) in the second quarter of 2023 from 5,851 (Gwh) recorded in the first quarter of the year. The NBS added that on a year-on-year basis, electricity supply increased by 13.06 per cent in the second quarter of 2023 compared with the 5,226 (Gwh) reported in the second quarter of 2022.

  Staff of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company have led a protest in Port Harcourt, Rivers State to demand an end to the acquisition of the Company’s facilities by Oando Plc. The staff, who blocked access to Agip premises in Port Harcourt, called on the Federal Executive Council, the National Assembly and regulatory bodies to halt the transaction. The leader of the protesters and the company’s chapter chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Eyong Survival, alleged that the acquisition process contravenes known labour laws and if allowed to be concluded, will lead to the disengagement of over 3,000 staff. Mr Survival claimed that the affected facilities in the acquisition process are the Oil Mining Leases in Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Imo states. He said while they wait for good reasoning from the company and the stakeholders, the staff has withdrawn services in all the facilities run by Agip. The labour leader noted that the effect of their withdrawal is already being felt as gas supplies have been cut from critical infrastructures and towns. He said in the case that the transaction must be concluded, the staff must be given special severance packages and those entitled to be transferred to the new owner, must be allowed to do so without difficulty. Oando Plc had announced via a statement that it reached an agreement with ENI to purchase 100% of Nigerian Agip Oil Company’s shares in the company. This transaction, however, is still subject to ministerial approval, and other extant regulatory approvals

  A disgraced Turkish crypto founder who fled to Albania and his two brothers have been sentenced to 11,196 years in jail each, the Anadolu state news agency reported Friday. Prosecutors had asked for Thodex boss Faruk Fatih Ozer, 29, to be sentenced to 40,562 years in prison for money laundering, fraud and establishing a criminal organisation. “If I were to establish a criminal organisation, I would not have acted so amateurishly,” Anadolu quoted Ozer as telling the court.   His two brothers, Serap and Guven, received the same sentence, which was issued late Thursday after a brief trial, Turkish media reports said. Turkey is known for issuing massive prison sentences, which became more common after it abolished the death penalty in 2004 to help its efforts to join the European Union. Ozer was initially reported to have fled Turkey in April 2021 with $2 billion in investor assets, although that figure has since been disputed. Prosecutors said Ozer had transferred 250 million liras in user assets (worth about $30 million at the time) to three secret accounts when he fled Turkey in April 2021, with much of the money ending up in a Malta bank. The indictment said the Ozer brothers had caused 356 million liras of damage to clients in all. The case grabbed local headlines because it coincided with a Turkish crypto boom that has since largely subsided due to heavier government regulation. Turks began turning to various cryptocurrencies as a defence against a deep slide in the value of the lira that began more than two years ago. Ozer gained further celebrity status after being pictured meeting with ultranationalist pro-government figures.   He was arrested last year in Albania on an international arrest warrant from Interpol. AFP

  The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has handed over property recovered from a convicted fraudster, Aisosa Ohue, alias Frederick Leonard, to an American victim, Cheryldene Cook.   Its Spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.   According to him, the property include the sum of N19 million and three-bedroom semi-detached duplex at Ward 36A Amagba Community in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo. He said that the property, which also include a Lexus E350 saloon car, an iPhone 13 Pro Max and a Samsung A31 phone were presented to the victim in Abuja by the Zonal Commander, ACE I Adebayo Adeniyi and the Head, Advanced Fee Fraud Section 1, ACE II Jimoh Rauf. Uwujaren said that Cheryldene Cook who flew in from the United States of America to receive the items was accompanied to the commission by her lawyer, Dr. Mike Nwosu. He added that she expressed appreciation to the commission for the recovery. According to him, Justice C.E Nwecheonwu of the Federal Capital Territory High, Kuje had in January ordered the forfeiture of the property after Orhue was convicted of a three-count charge including obtaining money by false pretence. “The convicted cheated the victim in a love scam while pretending to be a famous actor, Frederick Leonard”.(NAN)

  The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says it has redirected processing of passengers through the New International Terminal at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, effective immediately. This was made known in a statement released by the Director, Public Affairs & Consumer Protection at FAAN, Abdullahi Yakubu-Funtua on Thursday. He said the expedited relocation to the New International Terminal at MMIA was deemed necessary due to the unfortunate fire incident that occurred at the International Terminal 1 yesterday. The Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN, CON, FCIArb (UK) during his maiden visit to Lagos airport had directed the FAAN relocate airlines to the New International Terminal for the shutdown of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Terminal 1 by 1st October, 2023 with a view to improving passenger experience and for total overhaul of the terminal. “We intend to make this movement as seamless as possible but appeal to all travellers to please be at the airport early enough to complete their check-in formalities on time in order not to miss their flight,” the statement said.

Some bandits in the late hours of Thursday allegedly invaded St. Raphael Parish in Fadan Kamantan, Kafanchan Diocese in Southern Kaduna, and razed the parish house with a Seminarian, Na’aman Danlami. It was learnt that while some priests escaped during the incident, Danlami, who was a seminarian, was caught in the inferno. His remains had since been deposited in the mortuary. There was no official confirmation yet from either the state Government or Kaduna State Police Command. However, the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kaduna State, Rev. John Hayab, confirmed the incident to our correspondent on the telephone. “It is very sad that killings and this type of evil are still going on,” Hayab said. Details later…

  The naira, on Thursday, appreciated to N736.62 per dollar at the investors and exporters (I&E) window. The I&E window is the country’s official exchange rate window. The foreign exchange (FX) rate movement represents a 4.53 percent appreciation of the local currency from the N771.59 recorded on the last trading day. Data from FMDQ Securities Exchange, a platform that oversees FX trading in Nigeria, showed that the official window recorded a low of N700 and a high of N799.90 to the dollar on Thursday. FMDQ said trading opened at N774.74 and closed at the rate of N736.62; adding that the daily FX market turnover at the I&E window totalled $66.43 million. In its August newsletter, named ‘FMDQ Spotlight’, the company said the total turnover for January to July 2023, amounted to $235.16 billion (N122.14 trillion). Last Friday, Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, said the last time the foreign exchange (FX) rate was stable, was a decade ago. “If we think back to when was the last time the economy was stable, when it was growing, when inflation was low, when the exchange rate was stable, and when interest rates were affordable; that period was about a decade ago,” he said. The minister added that “economic growth was about 6 percent around 2013 to 2014”.

  Officers of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, on Thursday night, quelled a violent protest that erupted following the alleged killing of a fashion designer by an operative of the Department of State Services who shot intermittently and injured several people. One of our correspondents gathered that a customer brought the DSS official to the victim’s shop for allegedly failing to deliver some clothes on an agreed date. A trader in the market, who did not want her name in print for fear of being victimised, said some of the fashion designer’s colleagues, who learnt about the incident, intervened but their interference did not go down well with the DSS operative. She noted that the operative was arrested and detained by the police after he allegedly shot and killed the fashion designer. “A female customer of the fashion designer brought the DSS. She said the fashion designer did not sew her clothes. Her colleagues joined and defended her. The issue led to a serious argument. “We later heard a gunshot and learnt that the fashion designer had been killed and another injured. The DSS operative was arrested and detained at Wuse Market Police Station. That is where all our people are now,” the trader said. Responding to the development in a statement on Thursday, the spokesperson for the FCT Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh said, “In an incident at Garki International Market on September 7, 2023, an altercation arose between market occupants and certain individuals, including a DSS personnel and a tailor named Muhammad Habibu. The Garki Divisional Police station mobilised officers in response to a received distress call reporting the invasion of the market by these individuals, who fired shots at a tailor known as Mubarak Mubarak. “This incident led to some of the local youths reacting angrily and attempting to confront the DSS personnel involved. In response, the police intervened to rescue the individuals and protect public safety. During the incident, there was damage to a section of the Police outpost as some of the irate youths acted in a disorderly manner. It is important to note that some weapons used in the commotion have been recovered, and normalcy has now been restored. “The Commissioner of Police, FCT, Haruna Garba, emphasises the commitment to maintaining peace and respecting the rights of all citizens within the FCT. He encourages market occupants to also refrain from engaging in mischief involving public property, especially that which belongs to the security agencies in place to safeguard their well-being. Additionally, he urges the public to utilise the police emergency lines 08061581938,07057337653, 08028940883, for assistance when needed.” However, in a statement on Thursday, the spokesperson for the DSS, Peter Afunanya, said the secret police was investigating the matter. “The attention of the Department of State Services has been drawn to an incident that occurred a few hours ago between its staff and a mob at the Garki Market, Abuja. Information at the disposal of the Service was that its FCT Command responded to an SOS from their field operatives who allegedly came under a mob attack in the said market. “Consequently, the Service has commenced an investigation into the matter. The public is assured that details of the inquiries will be communicated as soon as possible. The Service assures that it will not hesitate to mete out a proper disciplinary measure(s) to its staff if found culpable or running foul of the Standard Operating Procedures on dealing with a member of the public.”