General
What Sapele Must do to Enjoy Steady Electricity—Igbuya
By Dipo Olowookere
Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Mr Monday Igbuya, has highlighted steps that must be taken to enjoy steady power supply.
Mr Igbuya said this during a radio programme in Oghara, Delta State, on Thursday.
He also urged management of Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to work towards providing uninterrupted power supply to residents of Sapele.
The lawmaker expressed concerns over the epileptic power supply in the town, lashing out at those he said constituted themselves into cogs in the wheel of progress in Sapele.
Mr Igbuya stressed that the problem of inadequate power supply to residents of Sapele has continued to be a source of worry to him.
“For Sapele to have steady electricity, the emphasis should not be on individuals who are not key players in the power sector, who did or did nothing but asking the service provider to sit up and calling on the federal government to further liberalize the sector to bring in new competitors, as it is in the telecommunication industry. Once that is done, consumers will then be at liberty to choose their service providers. Energies should be channelled in this direction,” the Speaker opined.
“I have done my best to leave worthwhile achievements behind in all my public endeavours. As council chairman, I observed then that Sapele was and is still known for its timber business.
“Of course you know the famous Africa Timber and Plywood and a cluster of Saw Mills, which was the economic main stay of the town. Electricity was a major problem to the saw millers and they were losing patronage. I am not a saw miller but I took it as a challenge, knowing the adverse economic effect of the perennial power outage,” Mr Igbuya said on the show.
Driven by an abiding concern for the well-being of the good people of Sapele, the Speaker said he marched in the streets.
“Sapele then was using 6.6 transformer while other areas were already on 11.5. I led the protest and that was what led to the changing of the 6.6 to 11.5 transformers. I also led the protest which gave rise to the step down in Amukpe.
“I did all of that and I was arrested by the Federal Government for leading a protest and kept in Abuja. It was Chief James Ibori who secured my release from the Directorate of State Security Service. He supported us and we got the contract awarded. That is what is in Amukpe today,” he added.
Using the opportunity to point out certain aspects of electricity agreements in Sapele, Mr Igbuya said those who signed the Ogorode Power Station agreement didn’t take into cognizance the need to step down the power for everybody.
“NEPA Estate, Sapele is enjoying electricity from the Ogorode Power Station,” he said.
The lawmaker, who looked at the realities in the country’s power sector, said electricity supply was no longer a social responsibility but a commercial venture.
“Where there is no competition in commercial services, there is bound to be a monopoly and where there is a monopoly, efficient service is at the mercy of the monopolist. This is simple economics,” he submitted.
Apparently angry, Mr Igbuya said that he suspected ulterior motives in the recent protest.
“I am representing Sapele State Constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly and I can say that I operate a 33 line. There is no doubt about that. I am not the only person on 33 KVA in Sapele and I am not the first to use it. It is an industrial line. My people should not suffer because I am on 33 line. Being on 33 is an enormous cost to my finances. The tariff is higher. I would have loved to be on 11.5 and payless like every electricity consumer in Sapele. Electricity is now a private concern and Investors want returns on their investment,” he said.
The presiding officer of the Delta State House of Assembly pointed out the short comings of the Benin Distribution Company (BEDC).
“Reverend Father Christopher Ekibo, a priest of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Sapele, said there was going to be a protest. I was in London when he called and I expressed excitement about the protest. Sapele used to get only 2 hours electricity supply from BEDC daily.
“I held meetings with the managing director of BEDC in Benin. And she told me that my people can get more power if they so desire but they have to pay their electricity bills. When I met Father Ekibo in Sapele, I appealed to him to encourage our people to pay bills. If they pay bills, we will get more hours of electricity supply,” he disclosed.
He charged BEDC to leave no stone unturned to ensure uninterrupted power supply to Sapele.
“BEDC is a private concern. This is the issue. BEDC is not giving metres to houses. What it brings majorly is estimated bills,” he said.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to vacate the court ordering the freezing of the bank account of the Osun Srate government.
In a statement today by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, the President said he’s “deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order” because of its timing, which is just a few days to the governorship election in the state next Saturday.
According to him, actions of an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action.
“Since assuming office, I have consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference. I have therefore deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or any other investigative or prosecutorial agency because I firmly believe that strong democratic institutions, operating within the confines of the law, are indispensable to democratic good governance and the rule of law.
“As President, I am committed to allowing institutions of State to function and take any action they consider necessary in the interest of proper governance without the need for any prior approval. Indeed, that is why institutions are set up by law with clearly defined powers. While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene.
“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election. Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election.
“Based on the foregoing premise, I am duty-bound to issue a directive on this issue in consonance with the overriding public interest in preserving public confidence and the integrity, credibility, and fairness of our democratic process.
“Accordingly, I have directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard,” the statement stated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
