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Ikeja Electric Says Customers Crucial to Achievement of Goals
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Chairman of Ikeja Electric, Mr Kola Adesina, has explained the critical role customers play in achieving some of the goals set by the energy firm.
Mr Adesina, while commenting on the 2018 Sustainability Report of the company titled Committed to Excellence – Half a Decade of Bringing Energy to Life, stated that, “Our customers and other stakeholders are crucial to the achievement of our goals; and we believe that a business can only be deemed strong and successful when its stakeholders are satisfied with the services provided.”
Speaking further, he said in view of this, “The board will continue to support initiatives that promote its sustainability agenda while creating value in the coming years.”
Business Post reports that the 2018 Sustainability Report reflects IE’s performance, accomplishments, challenges, passion for its business and its growth opportunities in the year under review.
Being the first and only electricity distribution company in Nigeria to produce a sustainability report, the publication covers the firm’s sustainability journey post-takeover with the inherent accomplishments including rebranding, infrastructure investments, smart technology investment, business process investment and performance improvement among other successes attained from the takeover period up to December 2018.
The 2018 Sustainability Report is the fourth report published by IE in successive order, and commemorates five years of the takeover of the company’s operation by its core investors following privatization on November 1, 2013.
“The scope of IE’s sustainability reports has moved beyond merely communicating financial risks to performance reporting aimed at fostering stakeholder confidence, long-term risk management, building the Company’s reputation and refining its corporate vision and strategy.
“Through the yearly publication of sustainability reports, IE has demonstrated its commitment to accountability, responsibility and transparency, which have unarguably, distinguished the Company in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI),” Mr Adesina said.
“Since we took over in November 2013, we have put in place, strategies that will steer the electricity distribution arm of the electricity sector value chain to greater heights,” he added.
“We have assembled a strong leadership team with extensive experience, robust industry and consumer knowledge, focused on innovation and growth. In addition, we have reinvigorated our legacy of sustainability with the introduction of customer-centric initiatives, which are geared towards assuring all stakeholders of a business built on accountability, responsibility, transparency and fairness.
“We have demonstrated that with the right leadership, the Company can continue to grow and improve its performance as expected by all stakeholders,” the Chairman further said.
“We do not report data because it is popular, or because others do so. We track our sustainability performance because it helps us make better decisions, helps to de-risk projects, discover new opportunities and deliver real value for our business.
“We acknowledge that there is still work to be done and we will continue to do all we can to ensure we maintain our brand promise – bringing energy to life,” he noted.
Ikeja Electric said it aims to publish its Sustainability Reports on an annual basis and the intended audience for this report are key stakeholders, which include customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, government and regulatory bodies. These stakeholders directly impact and are also directly impacted by the activities of the company.
The report, which is developed by the organisation’s Governance & Compliance Office, highlights that in 2018, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aided the company in securing its social license to operate and build the trust of its stakeholder groups.
Businesses cannot succeed in societies that fail, and as such, the company invested in the achievement of SDGs such as; ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all at all ages; ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education; promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all; achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls.
The company also contributed to the achievement of the SDGs by providing access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all; building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization; fostering innovation and promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development.
Other contributions include provision of access to justice for all; building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels; strengthening the means of implementation and revitalizing the global partnership for sustainable development.
Ikeja Electric reported that within the period under review, it established better technology-driven processes, leveraged data to measure performance for a more consistent growth pattern, optimised its network to drive efficiency and enhanced its security management system.
It also deepened its Quality Health, Safety and Environment (QHSE) processes and procedures through learning and development programs such as Target Zero and QHSE at a glance which impacted positively on employees, vendors and contractors.
Over the years, the company has strengthened its stakeholder engagement and partnership to foster better relationships and maintain a social license to operate, whilst building a committed workforce by treating its employees fairly through reward and recognition initiatives put in place to incentivize the excellent performance of employees.
The 2018 Sustainability Report was organised and presented in accordance with the Sustainability Reporting Standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The GRI Standards seek to achieve consistency amongst organizations reporting on their sustainability activities.
Full access to Ikeja Electric’s 2018 Sustainability Report is available on https://www.ikejaelectric.com/corporate-governance/ or https://bit.ly/2SDQbK6
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed the collapse of five transmission towers along the Ikot Abasi–Eket 132kV Double Circuit Transmission Line.
This was attributed to severe acts of vandalism, as TCN disclosed that the structure collapsed after vandals removed critical structural bracing members.
The affected towers were N9, J4, N10, N11 and N12, the organisation said in a statement on Friday.
It explained that the extensive damage was discovered during a routine joint line patrol conducted on August 9, 2026, by TCN linesmen.
Further inspection revealed that structural members from seven additional towers along the same transmission corridor had also been removed and stolen. The towers, J3, N8, N13, N14, N15, N18 and N19, are now structurally compromised and pose a risk of further collapse.
TCN condemned this act of sabotage and reiterated its commitment to working hard to maintain a robust and reliable national grid.
The statement said that to mitigate the impact on electricity supply, the network has been reconfigured to prioritise supply to Ekim transmission station, leaving Ibom Power as the only station without supply.
TCN said it is mobilising an urgent intervention to complete the reconstruction of the affected sections of the line, with security agencies also notified to aid investigations and prevent further acts of vandalism along the line route.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Tajudeen Abbas, has urged all relevant government agencies to promptly initiate actions for the full implementation of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency Act, 2026, following its signing into law by President Bola Tinubu.
The bill, sponsored by Speaker Abbas, was aimed at repealing the Nigerian Shippers’ Council Act, Cap. N133, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and establish the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports while safeguarding the interests of shippers, service providers, and users of regulated port services. With the President’s assent, it has now been enacted as an Act of Parliament.
The legislation represents one of the landmark achievements of the 10th National Assembly. It reflects the Speaker’s commitment to legislative excellence, institutional reform, and sustainable economic growth, according to a press statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Speaker, Mr Musa Krishi.
The bill underwent a rigorous and inclusive legislative process, including extensive stakeholder consultations and a public hearing. It was passed by both Chambers of the National Assembly and subsequently assented to by the President.
The Act provides a robust legal and institutional framework to ensure effective economic regulation of Nigerian ports by fostering transparency, competitiveness, and efficiency in port operations; protecting the rights and interests of shippers, service providers, and other port users; and aligning Nigeria’s port regulatory system with global best practices, thereby enhancing the ease and cost-effectiveness of doing business.
Despite receiving presidential assent, the Act has yet to be fully operationalised.
He warned that any further delay would undermine the legislative intent of the reform, prolong the exposure of port users to arbitrary charges and operational inefficiencies, and deny the nation the anticipated benefits of increased revenue, improved trade facilitation, and stronger investor confidence in the marine and blue economy sector.
The Speaker urged the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, in collaboration with all relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government, to take the necessary administrative, institutional, and financial measures for the prompt implementation of the Act.
He said this should include the formal transition to, as well as operational empowerment of, the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency to discharge its statutory mandate effectively.
The full implementation of the Act is critical to unlocking the economic potential of Nigeria’s ports, reducing the cost of doing business, strengthening trade competitiveness, and positioning Nigeria as the leading maritime and logistics hub in West and Central Africa.
The statement noted that the Speaker reaffirmed the 10th House’s commitment to exercising the necessary legislative oversight to ensure this landmark legislation, along with others assented to by the President, is fully implemented and achieves its intended goals for the benefit of the Nigerian people.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Ministry of Youth Development (FMYD), through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA), has partnered with Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform for growth-stage founders, to provide funding and support for the next generation of Nigerian youth entrepreneurs.
The announcement coincides with International Youth Day 2026, whose global theme this year — Different Contexts, Common Aspirations — calls on institutions to close the gap between young people’s circumstances and their opportunities. The pilot is an early step toward NiYA’s broader ambition to train and empower 7 million Nigerian youth within two years.
The NiYA and Cascador Founders Programme will begin with a pilot cohort of 20 early-stage Nigerian youth founders, including entrepreneurs without formal business registration or established financial records.
Over four weeks, participants will undergo intensive training focused on business fundamentals, investment readiness and pitch preparation. At the end of the programme, the eight top-performing founders will receive non-dilutive funding of up to N5 million each from Cascador, alongside an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution to help them structure, manage and scale their businesses.
The funding and support will be presented at a Pitch Day organised by NiYA and the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.
The Minister for Youth Development, Mr s Ayodele Olawande, said the partnership would enable NiYA to move beyond training by helping young people transform ideas into investable businesses and achieve sustainable economic participation through business preparation and access to capital.
“The pilot is deliberately designed to test a model that can go beyond one cohort. If young founders can be identified early, prepared properly, connected to credible capital and supported to build stronger business systems, then access to opportunity becomes less dependent on background or existing networks. That is the larger objective: to build a youth entrepreneurship ecosystem in which readiness, ideas and execution can increasingly determine who gets the opportunity to grow.”
The pilot will run in-person in Abuja with virtual touchpoints and 1:1 mentorship. All 20 graduates retain NiYA alumni status, with priority consideration for future opportunities.
NiYA and FMYD have already shown what real commitment to Nigeria’s youth looks like — the platforms, the reach, the ambition to train millions. What we’re building together now is the missing piece, a practical bridge from the ideation stage to real capital-readiness. When a Ministry so dedicated to its young people asked Cascador to help build that bridge, it was an easy decision,” said Trish Thomas, CEO of Cascador.
Ms Oyin Solebo, COO of Cascador and former Managing Director of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, highlighted the partnership’s impact, saying, “This is what innovative capital deployment looks like: a government building real investment readiness at scale, and a partner meeting that foundational work with non-dilutive funding at exactly the moment it’s needed. Partnerships like this open doors that neither of us could open alone.”
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