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Jubilation as NITEL/MTel Pensioners Begin Verification

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NITEL MTel retirees

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Verification of retirees of former federal government owned telecoms outfit, Nigerian Telecommunication (NITEL) and its mobile subsidiary, MTel, has kicked off. This has sparked excitement among former employees of the company.

The exercise, which is in two phases, commenced on Monday, January 15, 2018 and would be concluded on Saturday, January 27, 2018 (next week).

The verification is being carried out across the six geo-political zones of the country by the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS).

Over 20,000 retirees of NITEL/MTel are expected to be verified by the agency during the exercise.

For the first phase, the exercise is taking place at four centres; between January 15 and 27 at two centres in Lagos; between January 15 and 23 at a centre in Enugu, and between January 15 and 20 at a centre in Port Harcourt.

For the second phase, retirees of the firms will go to three centres; from February 5 -13 at the Abuja centre, from February 5- 13 at the Kano centre, and from February 5 – 8 at the Gombe centre.

Addressing newsmen at the Enugu centre, Executive Secretary of PTAD, Mrs Sharon Ikeazor, explained that the verification exercise was to off-set pension liabilities owed the former workers by federal government.

According to her, PTAD will pay entitlements of the retirees as soon as the budget is passed by the National Assembly because the money needed to make this a reality has been included in the 2018 budget.

“After the verification we are going to do what we call the computation, the computation of their entitlements; after computation we have federal auditors who have to clear the payments before we actually make payment to them.

“We have actually told them clearly that payment is not automatic, it will take us at least four, five months to get this payment done because NITEL is not the only one under PTAD; they are part of the privatised agencies that we are handling. Recall that we did Delta Steel and we did New Nigeria Newspapers, NICON Insurance and Nigeria Reinsurance among others.

“The money that will be paid to the pensioners will be appropriated in the budget, so we are waiting for the 2018 budget, all our funding liabilities are included into the budget so that’s why we are asking the National Assembly to speed up the passage of the budget.

“To us, these are not numbers, these are human beings, these are lives we are talking about and they must get their entitlements,” she said.

At one of the Lagos centres in Alausa, Ikeja, which Business Post visited on Wednesday, pensioners of the company were seen doing their data capturing.

Though they complained that the process was cumbersome, the joy of knowing that they would be paid soon by the government overrides the pains.

“The process is a bit difficult for us, but the fact that we are in this crucial stage is enough to make us happy,” one of the pensioners told us.

As on Wednesday when our correspondent visited the centre, we learned that tallies had been given to the retirees since Monday and were told to return on Wednesday to be captured.

This, Business Post gathered, caught most of the former workers of NITEL/MTel unawares and left those living outside Lagos stranded in the metropolis.

Efforts to speak with officials of PTAD at the centre on why this system was adopted did not yield any meaningful result as we were directed to the agency’s head office in Abuja.

Modupe Gbadeyanka is a fast-rising journalist with Business Post Nigeria. Her passion for journalism is amazing. She is willing to learn more with a view to becoming one of the best pen-pushers in Nigeria. Her role models are the duo of CNN's Richard Quest and Christiane Amanpour.

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Nigerians Can Film Police on Duty—Court Declares

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film police on duty

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

A Federal High Court in Warri, Delta State, has affirmed the right of Nigerians to film personnel of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) on duty.

The judgment was given by Justice H. A. Nganjiwa on Tuesday in a case filed by Mr Maxwell Uwaifo in suit number FHC/WR/CS/87/2025.

The court held that Nigerians have the constitutional right to use any device to record police officers executing their official duties in public.

It was ruled that police officers must wear visible name tags, display their force numbers, and must not harass, intimidate, arrest, or seize devices from citizens documenting their activities.

The court awarded the applicant N5 million in damages for the violation of his fundamental rights and N2 million for the cost of litigation.

Business Post reports that the respondents in the case were the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the NPF, the Police Service Commission (PSC), and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).

The lawyer filed the case in accordance with Sections 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, and 41 of the Constitution of Nigeria and others.

“This judgement has significant implications for policing standards, civil liberties, and public accountability across Nigeria,” Mr Uwaifo said after the judgement.

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Lagos Consumes 30% of Total Power Off-Take in Nigeria—TCN

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TCN EKEDC Total Power Off-Take in Nigeria

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The General Manager in charge of Transmission for Lagos Region of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Mr Adeshina Adeonipekun, has stressed the critical role of Lagos in the national grid.

While receiving the chief executive of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), Ms Wola Joseph Condotti, at his office on Monday, he said the Lagos region accounts for about 30 per cent of total power off-take in Nigeria.

He stated that TCN was implementing strategic expansion and project upgrades aimed at enhancing grid stability and operational efficiency in response to rising demand.

Mr Adeonipekun highlighted recent key milestones achieved in the region, including the commissioning of a 100MVA power transformer at the Ijora 132/33kV Transmission Substation, a 300MVA transformer at the Lekki 330/132kV Transmission Substation, and a 125MVA unit at the Agbara 132/33kV Substation, among others.

According to him, these additions have further increased the region’s installed capacity to 5,470MVA on the 132/33kV network and 4,110MVA on the 330/132kV network.

He further said that there were several ongoing rehabilitations at key substations within the region, including Amuwo GIS, Akoka 132/33kV, and Itire 132/33kV Transmission Substations, all geared towards further improving reliability, reducing system constraints, and enhancing the overall efficiency of power delivery.

In her remarks, Ms Condotti expressed appreciation for TCN’s continued partnership and support, underscoring the importance of sustained collaboration between transmission and distribution companies in building a more stable and efficient electricity transmission and supply network.

Both parties explored ways to strengthen collaboration and ensure a more stable and efficient power supply in Lagos, the nation’s commercial hub.

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Anambra to Regain Economic Strength After End to Sit-at-Home—Soludo

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soludo second term

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Governor of Anambra, Mr Chukwuma Soludo, says the years-long sit-at-home is now a thing of the past in the state as it will bring back lost economic viability to the South East state.

The governor spoke on Tuesday during his inauguration for a second term as the leader of the state, noting that security has improved in Anambra.

“The debilitating one-sit-at-home is over, and our schools, markets, businesses, and public servants are back to work. Reports say that ours is now the safest, or at least one of the safest states in Nigeria,” Mr Soludo said.

The second inauguration of the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) witnessed eminent Nigerians, including ex-presidents Mr Goodluck Jonathan and Mr Olusegun Obasanjo, as well as the Vice President, Mr Kashim Shettima, among others.

“I’m sure many of you flew into Anambra yesterday, being Monday. Previously, it was not possible,” he said at the Alex Ekwueme Square in Awka, the state capital.

Primarily associated with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), a separatist group advocating for an independent Biafran state, the sit-at-home saw millions of South-East residents remain indoors, shut their businesses, and stay off the roads on Mondays. Initially, it was declared as a weekly protest (especially on Mondays) to demand the release of IPOB leader, Mr Nnamdi Kanu, in 2021 by the Federal Government and draw attention to the separatist cause.

The cause had significant socio-economic consequences in the South-East states like Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.

However, Mr Soludo referenced several milestones, including the destruction of criminal camps and the “mass return” of Anambra indigenes during the Yuletide, as evidence of improving security in the state.

“Some 62 criminal camps have been dismantled, and 8 local governments previously under total siege have been liberated,” the governor said.

“Anambra had its best Christmas season in decades last December with a mass return and over 10,000 visitors per day to the Solution City every day until the 10th of January.”

Part of the measures to address insecurity in Anambra was the Homeland Security Law 2025, a measure the governor said contributed to the reduction in criminality.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Mr Soludo as the winner of the November 8, 2025, governorship election in Anambra State. The APGA candidate polled a total of 422,664 votes, defeating his closest rival, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Mr Nicholas Ukachukwu, who scored 99,445 votes, while the candidate of the Young Progressives Party, Mr Paul Chukwuma, came third with 37,753 votes.

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