Economy
Ikeja Electric Customers Demand Debt Forgiveness
By Dipo Olowookere
An appeal has been made to the management of Ikeja Electric by customers in the Shomolu area of Lagos for a debt forgiveness on their accumulated outstanding bills.
This followed the deployment of thousands of prepaid meters by the electricity firm to consumers in the area to further close the metering gap.
Shomolu area of Lagos State is noted for its huge concentration of printers and other heavy electricity consumers.
It was discovered that out of all the customers meter, about 660 are yet to migrate and utilize the new prepaid meters due to their inability to meet the demands of the disco in offsetting their previous accumulated bills.
The customers therefore seek a percentage discount on their huge outstanding debt.
Hitherto, the customers had lamented the burden of excessive and outrageous billing by the company, hence sought for pre-paid meters.
This made IE to deploy over 1,500 prepaid meters to the community recently. However, some communities in Shomolu are yet to migrate from the analogue meters or estimated billing to the prepaid meters.
Speaking on the issue, Chairman of Shomolu Community Development Committee (CDC), Mr Adedapo Oduguwa, commended Ikeja Electric for the massive deployment of meters to the area and environs, but advised the firm to ensure that migration of customers to the prepayment metering is made a lot easier by looking into the contentious issues relating to outstanding electricity bills.
He said, “This will enable customers migrate immediately to recharge after exhausting the initial token installed in the meter.
“We request for debt forgiveness. So many properties are abandoned and not occupied but are still served bills which is mounting.
“It is not easy for some people to clear the backlog because it was previous occupiers of the buildings that accumulated the bills passed down for so many years.
“If the company makes the migration easy for us, we will be in a position to spread the gospel that meter is free just as the police will say bail is free.”
In similar vein, president of the co-operative society of the association of printers in Shomolu, Mr Babajide Mark Anthony, expressed his joy at the new development and confirmed that the association is ready to cooperate with the DisCo to ensure smooth operation.
He further advised the firm to fast-track the installation of meters and also attend to minor complaints on time, in order to build more trust and instil confidence in its customers.
The Business Manager of IE in charge of Shomolu, Engr. Taofeek Basanya, when contacted, said the company has made migration easy for customers.
According to him, “we want consumers to come forward with their bills and pay 30 percent of their outstanding, the rest can be spread out over a long period of time as long as they recharge their prepaid meters.
“Customers should not hide under the guise of community associations to frustrate the company’s efforts of metering more people, but should on individual basis come to our office to make their claims and dispute about their bills.”
In his reaction, IE’s Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Felix Ofulue, reiterated IE’s position to sustain the metering exercise in an equitable manner such that all category of customers that are yet to be metered will definitely benefit from the roll-out plan.
However, the company spokesman expressed concerns about the trend of asset compromise being witnessed in some the areas that have already been metered.
According to him, “our records reveal that a lot of customers who were recently metered, especially in Shomolu and environs have not vended or purchased units on their meters several weeks after exhausting the initial token. Typically, this is the process that should follow after the complimentary units on the prepaid meter have been exhausted.”
He called on metered customers to resist the urge to bypass meters, rather urging them to manage their energy consumption prudently. He also warned that IE would apply the authorized sanctions against any customer who engages in the act of meter bypassing.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended rallied by 1.18 per cent on Friday, May 8, its fifth in a row for this week.
During the session, the market capitalisation increased by N28.96 billion to N2.488 trillion from N2.459 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) jumped by 48.39 points to 4,158.77 points from the 4,110.38 points recorded a day earlier.
The growth witnessed yesterday was spurred by the gains recorded by six securities, led by 11 Plc, which chalked up N11.00 to sell at 221.10 per unit versus Thursday’s closing price of N210.10 per unit. FrislandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N10.26 to close at N132.98 per share compared with the previous day’s N127.06 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc rose by N2.82 to N75.90 per unit from N73.08 per unit.
In addition, Lighthouse Financial Services Plc appreciated by 7 Kobo to 86 Kobo per share from 81 Kobo per share, UBN Property Plc climbed higher by 5 Kobo to N2.25 per unit from N2.20 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc gained 2 Kobo to close at N2.32 per share, in contrast to the previous session’s N2.30 per share.
Conversely, Geo-Fluids Plc went down by 20 Kobo to N2.90 per unit from N3.10 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc lost 5 Kobo to end at N16.95 per share versus N17.00 per share.
The volume of transactions for the session surged by 41.8 per cent to 528,891 units from 372,916 units, and the value grew by 11.4 per cent to N34.0 million from N30.4 million, while the number of deals slid by 7.4 per cent to 25 deals from 27 deals.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion. Resourcery Plc occupied the second spot after trading 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and the third position was occupied by Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.
The most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis was GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units transacted for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.5 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units traded for N1.9 billion.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock exchange reversed the previous day’s loss, with a 2.10 per cent surge on Friday as a result of demand for large-cap equities like Dangote Cement, First Holdco and others.
It was observed that apart from the insurance counter, which shed 0.37 per cent, every other sector closed higher yesterday.
The industrial goods index expanded by 7.26 per cent, the banking segment increased by 3.35 per cent, the consumer goods industry rose by 0.21 per cent, and the energy sector soared by 0.14 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited improved by 5,041.22 points to 244,775.83 points from 239,734.61 points, and the market capitalisation added N3.235 trillion to settle at N157.094 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N153.859 trillion.
The quintet of Neimeth, Cadbury Nigeria, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank, Mecure, and Dangote Cement led the advancers’ table on Friday, with 10.00 per cent growth each to quote at N9.90, N72.60, N3.52, N72.60, and N1,088.00, respectively.
On the flip side, the duo of UAC Nigeria and Industrial and Medical Gases lost 10.00 per cent each to sell for N171.00 and N42.30, respectively, as Eterna declined by 9.93 per cent to N33.55, Learn Africa slipped by 9.89 per cent to N8.20, and Deap Capital tripped by 9.69 per cent to N5.50.
The most active stock for the day was VFD Group, with a turnover of 102.9 million units valued at N1.1 billion. FCMB transacted 99.4 million units worth N1.1 billion, UBA traded 94.5 million units for N3.8 billion, Access Holdings exchanged 85.4 million units worth N2.0 billion, and Zenith Bank sold 46.5 million units valued at N5.8 billion.
At the close of trades, market participants traded 1.1 billion units worth N55.0 billion in 69,996 deals, in contrast to the 1.8 billion units valued at N72.2 billion transacted in 81,131 deals a day earlier, showing a crash in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 38.89 per cent, 23.82 per cent, and 13.73 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira fell against the US Dollar by N5.54 or 0.41 per cent to N1,361.39/$1 from N1,355.85/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, May 8.
The domestic currency also depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.50 to trade at N1,853.68/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,845.18/£1, and against the Euro, it lost N9.37 to sell for N1,602.63/€1 versus N1,593.26/€1.
However, at the GTBank FX desk, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the US Dollar yesterday by N3 to quote at N1,372/$1 compared with Thursday’s closing value of N1,375/$1, and at the parallel market, it traded flat at N1,380/$1.
Despite the volatile outcome of the local currency, it remained within the expected trading range, reflecting sustained FX stabilisation efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), supported by improved liquidity, stronger autonomous inflows, and better price discovery.
Traders point to further gains for the Naira into the coming week, thanks to Dollar supply from foreign investors, exporters and oil companies, while demand is moderate. Nigerian yields are still attractive for foreign investors, serving as a basis for more (FX) flows coming to Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the country’s external reserves dropped by 3.4 per cent to $48.32 billion, from a 2009 high of $50.02 billion recorded on March 11.
In the cryptocurrency market, prices rallied after worries eased, following fresh US airstrikes in Iran that initially sparked a surge in oil prices and a broader risk-off move across crypto markets.
Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.8 per cent to sell at $80,212.54, Solana (SOL) gained 6.5 per cent to sell at $93.76, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 5.1 per cent to $0.2749, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 3.7 per cent to $0.1102, and Ripple (XRP) rose by 3.1 per cent to $1.42.
Further, Binance Coin (BNB) jumped 2.3 per cent to $650.16, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 1.6 per cent to $2,315.48, and TRON (TRX) increased by 0.1 per cent to $0.3515, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
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