News
“Nigerians Are No Fools,” Consumers protest as Discos hike meter price
Power distribution companies in Nigeria have announced an increase in the price for various electricity meter models, marking the second price hike in four months.
Power consumers kicked against the development, describing it as “wicked”, considering the economic hardship nationwide currently.
According to the Discos, the cost of a single-phase meter has risen from approximately N117,000 to as much as N149,800.
This amount indicates an increase of 28.03 per cent or N32,800, depending on the distribution company and meter vendor.
The new prices posted on the official X handle of the Discos on Wednesday were scheduled to take effect on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
It also reflects the deregulation of meter asset providers as directed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
This upward revision follows an earlier increase in August 2024, further amplifying concerns among electricity consumers about affordability and accessibility.
An analysis of the documents revealed that meter prices vary across Discos, influenced by vendors and meter models (single-phase and three-phase).
Eko Disco pegged the price of its single-phase meter between N135,987.5 and N161,035, while a three-phase meter was pegged between N226,600 and N266,600.
Ibadan Disco said customers will pay between N130,998 and N142,548 for a single-phase meter and N226,556.25–NN232,008 for a three-phase-meter.
Customers under Abuja Disco will pay N123,130.53 – NN147,812.5 for single-phase meters and N206,345.65 – NN236,500 for three-phase meters.
Kano Electricity Distribution said its customers will pay N127,925–N129,999 for a single-phase meter and N223,793–NN235,425 for a three-phase meter.
Lastly, Kaduna Disco said N131,150 — N142,548.94 would be paid for single-phase meters and N220,375 — N232,008.04 for three-phase meters.
In April, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission introduced a significant policy shift by announcing the deregulation of meter prices under the Meter Asset Provider scheme for end-user customers.
The move was to address lingering issues surrounding meter supply and pricing transparency within the electricity sector.
According to NERC’s order, meter prices under the MAP scheme will now be determined through competitive bidding rather than being centralised.
This shift is expected to foster greater competition among meter providers, ultimately improving cost efficiency and service delivery for end users.
Additionally, the deregulation removes earlier operational restrictions, allowing MAP permit holders to provide metering services across all electricity distribution companies in Nigeria.
However, MAPs must meet specific regulatory requirements to ensure compliance and maintain quality standards in service delivery.
Previously, NERC regulated meter prices, which were often subsidised across all DisCos to reduce costs for customers. While this model aimed to make metering affordable, it inadvertently stifled competition and limited transparency in the supply chain.
As a result, Discos and customers were unable to negotiate or explore better deals from meter vendors, contributing to inefficiencies in the system.
With deregulation now in place, NERC anticipates a more dynamic metering ecosystem where customers and Discos can benefit from competitive pricing, improved service quality, and greater accountability among meter providers.
Meters are sold directly by the meter asset providers but the application will be done through Discos’ portals.
Some of the meter vendors are Mojec Asset Management Company, Wellsun Intelligent Technology, Gosslink Engineering, Turbo Energy Ltd, MBH Power, CIG Metering Assets, among others.
The meter asset providers had protested that the price approved by NERC was below the landing or production cost of the meters.
For days, meter application portals of the Discos were shut as the vendors refused to supply the product at a rate below its cost.
The Chief Executive Officer of Fermadec Group, Fola Akinola, had told one of our correspondents in April that the Discos shut down their meter application portals because the manufacturers and the Discos were regularising the prices of meters to reflect the current economic realities.
Akinola noted that the meter prices then were no longer sustainable, considering the exchange rate.
He said the NERC needed to stop fixing the prices of prepaid meters because the exchange rate was not stable.
“Before, the price used to be fixed, but now, each seller is going to give his or her price, depending on the type of meter,” he said.
After weeks of negotiation, the regulator approved an increase in meter prices to reflect the current reality in the foreign exchange market.
While announcing the new prices in May, the Discos disclosed that a customer would have his meter installed within 10 working days. However, reports from customers indicated that some of the vendors are not abiding by the rules.
It was also said the prices would be reviewed monthly after a competitive bid process by the vendors.
Consumers kick
The Executive Director of the Electricity Consumers Protection and Advocacy Centre, Princewill Okorie, rejected the new meter prices, saying there are no justifications for it.
He emphasised that the Discos were given N59bn from the N200bn earmarked for the National Mass Metering Programme in 2020, saying they only paid back N7bn.
“What do you want me to say? They keep increasing the meter price, why are they wicked? N200bn was earmarked for the NMMP that was to be implemented in three phases. Only the pilot phase of N59bn was implemented. And what the 11 Discos could pay back was only N7bn. What did they use the rest of the money for?
“Since after that N59bn, what has happened to the rest of the money when you removed N59bn from N200bn? Are they not the same people who are paying for this meter that are paying for the shortfall as part of their electricity bills? The regulator increased the tariff, saying they wanted the Discos to get money to pay back the loan. Who are the people that got the meters?
“Let them stop taking Nigerians as fools. The meter acquisition fund, what did they use it for? So, it’s not justified at all. I don’t know why they want to keep inflicting punishment on Nigerian consumers. Let them account for the N200bn for the national mass metering programme,” he said.
The Executive Secretary of the Igbo Oriental Think Tank, Dr. Kenneth Anozie, has highlighted the vision of Dr. Chukwuma Anyichuks Odii for Ebonyi State ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
In a statement titled “Anyichuks Odii 2027: I Have a Dream for Ebonyi State,” Anozie compared Odii’s vision for Ebonyi with the transformational ideals associated with American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
According to the political analyst, Odii believes that Ebonyi State possesses enormous potential capable of benefiting the wider population rather than serving the interests of a few.
Anozie said Odii’s proposed agenda includes a restructuring of government to ensure equitable representation and development across the different zones of Ebonyi State.
He also listed improved infrastructure as a key component of Odii’s vision, particularly roads and other projects that would facilitate the movement of agricultural produce, stimulate industrial development and create employment opportunities for youths.
The analyst further said Odii plans to make the civil service more responsive to the needs of residents, establish major healthcare centres across the state’s local government areas to help reduce child mortality, and provide extensive ICT training for young people.
Anozie said the ICT initiative could position Ebonyi as a hub for technology talent, with trained professionals able to compete for opportunities locally and internationally.
“Anyichuks has a dream. Ndi Ebonyi need to cue in to that dream for the benefits of all,” Anozie said.
He urged Ebonyi residents to pay attention to the proposed agenda and participate actively in determining the direction of the state ahead of the 2027 election.
Dr. Kenneth Anozie is the Executive Secretary of the Igbo Oriental Think Tank and a political analyst.
…Governor trounces APC’s Oyebamiji with 66,252
The Independent National Electoral Commission has declared Governor Ademola Adeleke, of the Accord Party, the winner of the 2026 governorship election.
Announcing the final results, INEC Returning Officer, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, the Vice- Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti declared Adeleke winner and returned him elected.
Ogunwole announced that the Accord candidate secured 511,067 while his closest challenger, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, recorded 444,815 votes.
Adeleke trounced his major opponent with 66,252 votes amid wild jubilation by party supporters and other residents.
Details later…
The Osun State Governor and Accord Party candidate, Ademola Adeleke, has won 19 of the 30 Local Government Areas in Saturday’s governorship election, while the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Oyebamiji, secured victory in 11 LGAs.Download Offline Maps
The results are being collated and announced, with the Independent National Electoral Commission expected to make the official declaration after the completion of the process.
Adeleke recorded notable victories across several parts of the state, including Ede South, Ede North, Osogbo, Ife Central, Ife East, Ife North, Ilesa West, Odo Otin, Egbedore and Iwo.
Oyebamiji, however, won key LGAs including Ilesa East, Boripe, Irepodun, Obokun, Atakumosa West, Atakumosa East, Irewole, Isokan, Ola-Oluwa, Ife South and Olorunda.
The results announced so far show a closely contested election between the two major candidates, with the other candidates recording significantly lower figures in most of the LGAs.Download Interactive Maps
In Boluwaduro, Adeleke polled 7,118 votes against Oyebamiji’s 7,050. In Ede South, Adeleke secured 26,188 votes while the APC candidate scored 6,219.
Adeleke also won Ife North with 13,879 votes to Oyebamiji’s 9,613; Ilesa West with 16,196 against 12,756; Ifedayo with 7,427 against 6,836; and Ife Central with 21,171 against 15,913.
In Osogbo, Adeleke recorded 36,480 votes while Oyebamiji polled 30,474. He also won Oriade with 21,343 votes to 14,863 and Odo Otin with 18,003 votes against 15,435.
Other LGAs won by Adeleke included Ife East, where he scored 27,201 votes against Oyebamiji’s 18,600; Ifelodun, 21,107 against 18,396; Iwo, 27,085 against 19,660; Ede North, 35,427 against 10,283; Ila, 16,211 against 12,934; Ayedire, 11,073 against 9,910; Egbedore, 19,278 against 11,194; and Ayedaade, 16,681 against 15,719.Design Campaign Signs
Oyebamiji secured victories in Ilesa East with 16,208 votes against Adeleke’s 12,280; Boripe with 19,963 against 12,448; Irepodun with 15,713 against 14,504; and Obokun with 16,120 against 12,023.
He also won Atakumosa West, polling 10,037 votes to Adeleke’s 7,479; Irewole, 29,972 against 10,934; Atakumosa East, 9,936 against 7,872; Isokan, 14,063 against 13,765; Ola-Oluwa, 10,782 against 10,063; Ife South, 14,678 against 13,507; and Olorunda, 24,671 against 23,514.
The outcome places Adeleke ahead in the overall LGA tally, although the final result remains subject to the completion of the official collation and declaration by INEC.
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As of about 4:30pm on Saturday, INEC had uploaded 903 of the 3,763 expected polling-unit results to its Result Viewing Portal (IReV), representing about 24 per cent of the results expected across the state.
The emerging figures show Adeleke’s party making an early statement, particularly in Osogbo, where results from two polling units reviewed showed the Accord Party ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
At Ward 4, Unit 39, Osogbo Local Government Area, Accord secured 65 votes, while the APC polled 43. The ADC recorded two votes, while ZLP, AA and AAC each scored one vote.
Another result from Ward 4, Unit 13, also in Osogbo, further tilted in favour of the Accord Party, which scored 134 votes against 75 votes for the APC. The ADC polled four votes, while ADP, AAC and APGA recorded one vote each.
The figures have placed Adeleke ahead in the early results emerging from the available uploads, although the lead cannot yet be treated as an indication of the final statewide outcome.
The race remains open, with thousands of polling-unit results still to be uploaded, verified and collated through the official INEC process.
The emerging results are nevertheless significant because they provide the first concrete picture of how the three leading contenders — Adeleke of the Accord Party, APC candidate Bola Oyebamiji and African Democratic Congress candidate Najeem Salaam — are performing in areas where results have been made available.
The early advantage for Adeleke comes after a tense election day marked by complaints over delays in the electronic transmission of results, alleged incidents of intimidation and vote-buying, as well as isolated reports of violence.
Adeleke had earlier expressed confidence in victory after casting his vote, while Oyebamiji also declared that he expected to win the contest. Salaam, meanwhile, raised concerns over the alleged non-recognition of some ADC agents and later reported an attack at his polling unit in Ejigbo.
Attention has now shifted from voting to the results battle, with parties and supporters closely monitoring the IReV portal and the official collation centres.
Following the conclusion of voting, presiding officers have commenced the sorting and counting of ballots at polling units, with results beginning to emerge from different parts of the state in Saturday’s governorship election.
Three major candidates in the Osun governorship election had expressed confidence in emerging victorious as the polls entered the sorting and collation stage, with each candidate and their supporters optimistic about securing the mandate of the electorate.
Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, on Saturday, expressed confidence in emerging victorious in the ongoing governorship election after casting his vote at Sagba Abogunde Ward 2, Unit 9, in Ede North Local Government Area.
Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress governorship candidate in Osun State, Najeem Salaam, raised concerns over the alleged non-recognition of his party agents in several areas across the state during Saturday’s election.
Meanwhile, as at 4.30pm, a check by our correspondent to the IReV portal indicated that 903 out of 3,763 units have been uploaded
Results announced so far:
1. Ward 4, Unit 39, Osogbo Local Government Area
ZLP — 1
AA — 1
AAC — 1
ADC — 2
APC — 43
Accord Party — 65
Presiding Officer: Oyeranmi Deborah
2. Ward 4, Unit 13, Osogbo Local Government Area
Accord Party — 134
APC — 75
ADC — 4
ADP — 1
AAC — 1
APGA — 1
Presiding Officer: Mabel Olowolayemo
3. From Ede North, 007/02/07/29
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