By Adedapo Adesanya

The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved the adoption of 112 as the national emergency number at all levels and across relevant agencies.

It is part of measures to strengthen Nigeria’s emergency lifeline and build a unified and coordinated national response to emergencies.

The council also approved the establishment of a multi-agency implementation committee and programme coordination led by the Office of the Vice President and the National Communications Commission (NCC).

The approval was part of decisions taken at the 157th meeting of the NEC held virtually and chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

Mr Shettima said the 112 emergency lifeline had become necessary to prevent delay caused by bureaucratic bottlenecks, noting that what the citizens seek urgently when confronted by a natural disaster or insecurity is an urgent response and not bureaucracy.

“This is not only a technical reform. It is a test of the state’s humanity. In moments of fire, accident, robbery, medical emergency, flood, violence, or panic, citizens do not need bureaucracy.

“They need a response. They need to know one number to call, one system to trust, and one coordinated chain of action that moves quickly enough to save lives,” he stated.

He explained that while Nigeria is not beginning from zero, as the emergency number had been in existence, what is required at the moment “is coordination, adoption, standard operating procedures, public awareness, institutional ownership, and trust”.

The vice president described NEC as the nation’s economic engine room, where the federal government and the states must convert the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu into practical outcomes.

“We cannot build our way to a one-trillion-dollar economy by federal effort alone. We cannot create millions of jobs by speeches alone.

“We cannot expand exports, attract investment, secure communities, or unlock productivity unless every tier of government understands its role and performs it with urgency,” the VP noted.

Mr Shettima noted that the council will continue to focus on decisions that would have a positive impact on the lives of Nigerians.

“History will not ask how many meetings we held. It will ask what changed because we met.

“It will ask whether our decisions reached the farmer, the manufacturer, the artist, the investor, the accident victim, the unemployed graduate, and the child waiting to inherit the country we are rebuilding.”

NEC also received a presentation on the rehabilitation of police training institutions across the country from its ad hoc committee led by Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, and commended the ad hoc committee for the work done so far.

It also called on the Ministry of Finance to expedite the release of the balance of approved funds for the take-off of the project and urged the committee to ensure national spread by capturing training institutions in each geopolitical zone in the first phase of the intervention.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

The Supreme Court has recognised Mr David Mark as the National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

In a judgment on Friday, the apex court restored the leadership of the former Senate President, after an appellate court had ordered a status quo ante bellum.

The Supreme Court held that the decision of the Appeal Court on status quo ante bellum was improper and unwarranted.

It also refused to uphold the preliminary objections by counsel to Mr Nafiu Bala, who is challenging the leadership of Mr Mark, directing that the suit should head back to the trial court for determination. Mr Bala went to court to seek an ex parte to stop Mr Mark and his team from parading themselves as leaders of the opposition party.

The ADC, which was asked to put on notice to explain why the injunction should not be given, appealed the matter, but the parties were asked to maintain the status quo ante bellum. This was interpreted to mean the ADC was without a leader.

The matter went to the apex court, which decided it today, affirming Mr Mark as the party’s chairman, which seeks to eject President Bola Tinubu from Aso Rock via the 2027 presidential election.

Mr Bala, a former vice chairman of the party, was said to have resigned his position to pave the way for Mr Mark and others, who joined the party from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP).
However, he claimed he did not resign and that his signature was forged, seeking the court’s help to install him as the party’s chairman, based on ADC’s constitution, according to him.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Residents and businesses in Lagos will face an extended power outage following the sudden shutdown of the Egbin Power Station and a simultaneous transmission line outage.

The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) in a statement on Thursday said that the Egbin Power Station suffered a major operational disturbance, leading to a complete loss of generation and worsening supply constraints in the nation’s commercial capital.

According to reports, the incident led to the death of a contractor. However, the company has yet to confirm the cause or provide an official account of what transpired.

In the statement, the system operator said the incident occurred at about 8:21 pm on April 28, when the plant’s output dropped from about 641 megawatts to zero.

It attributed the shutdown to critical equipment failure within the plant.

“The Nigerian Independent System Operator wishes to inform the general public of a significant reduction in power generation currently affecting electricity supply across the country, particularly within the Lagos region.

“Egbin Power Station, which is the largest electricity-generating plant on the national grid and a major contributor to daily power supply in Nigeria, experienced a major operational disturbance.

“At approximately 8:21 p.m. on April 28, 2026, Egbin Power Station recorded a total loss of generation, dropping from about 641MW to zero output.

“This incident was caused by the failure of the plant’s central compressor, in addition to a malfunction of the circulating water pump system, which necessitated an immediate shutdown of all generating units to safeguard the facility,” the statement partly read.

The operator explained that the impact of the generation loss was compounded by a transmission constraint affecting power delivery into Lagos.

“Power supply to the Lagos region is currently further restricted due to the forced outage of the Osogbo–Ikeja West 330kV transmission line, thereby limiting the evacuation of available generation into the Lagos load centre,” it added.

The dual disruption, according to the system operator, has created a significant supply gap, forcing authorities to ration electricity to prevent a total system collapse.

“Consequently, this loss of generation has created a significant supply shortfall, necessitating immediate load-shedding measures to maintain grid stability and prevent a wider system disturbance,” the statement added.

The agency said emergency measures had been activated to manage the situation and minimise the impact on consumers.

“System operators have since deployed contingency measures, including the reallocation of available load across distribution companies, with priority given to critical national infrastructure.

“In addition, efforts are ongoing to optimise generation from other available power plants to mitigate the impact of this development on electricity consumers,” it stated.

The operator apologised to consumers, particularly in Lagos and neighbouring areas, where outages have been more pronounced.

“We acknowledge the inconvenience this situation has caused electricity consumers, especially within Lagos and surrounding areas, and we assure the public that all relevant stakeholders are working closely to resolve the situation as quickly as possible,” it added.

The Egbin Power Station, located in Ikorodu, Lagos, is the largest thermal power plant on Nigeria’s national grid, with an installed capacity of over 1,300MW, although actual generation fluctuates due to gas supply, maintenance, and grid constraints.

Its central role means any major outage often has an immediate and widespread impact on electricity supply, particularly in Lagos, which accounts for a significant share of national power consumption.

The disruption highlights the fragility of Nigeria’s electricity grid, where single-point failures in generation or transmission infrastructure can trigger extended supply shortages.