The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, recently beat his chest regarding the feats his ministry had achieved since he assumed office a few years ago.

One of such feats, he stated, was the additional N200 billion realised by the ministry in 2024 under his watch, reports Saturday Tribune.

But many Lagos residents, especially consumers in the power sector, do not share in the minister’s excitement.

Of late, it has been a litany of woes from the consumers, who insist that the reforms introduced by the minister since assuming office have left them worse off.

They can no longer use their freezers, pressing irons and other energy-sapping appliances.

Unfortunately, they believe the minister has abandoned them to the whims and caprices of the distribution companies (DisCos) in the state.

The DisCos, they claim, have continued to rip them off under the noses of the minister and other relevant regulatory authorities in the sector.

Some of them argue that despite being placed on Band A, they have been contending with epileptic power supply in their localities.

Recently, residents of Aguda and Ayetoro CDA in Surulere expressed their displeasure over exorbitant electricity bills despite poor power supply to the supposedly Band A consumers.

They allege that they receive less than 10 hours of electricity daily, instead of the over 20 hours meant for Band A consumers. Besides, they claim that N10,000 worth of electricity units last less than two hours.

They are therefore calling on the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) to return them to Band C, where they believe they truly belong based on the hours of electricity their community receives.

“What they are giving us is even more than our house rent. If you load N10,000 now, it won’t last two hours. Despite the high tariff, we are not getting electricity adequately,” Mr. Jimoh Ajala, the Aguda CDA leader, lamented in a video.

Ajala said, “I am here because of EKEDC. This is a residential area, not commercial. Like yesterday, they took the light four times for four hours each. We are requesting that the DisCo should return us to Band B or C. The tariff is for commercial users and we are not; we are residential.”

Another resident, Adeyanju from Ayetoro CDA, corroborated Ajala’s claims, saying that what they pay for electricity is more than their house rent.

“We are paying more than our house rent for light. This is killing us. They should return us to Band D,” he said.

Jimoh Ajala and other Aguda CDA residents in Surulere protested at the Ikoyi Federal High Court, demanding government action against their exorbitant electricity bills.Interestingly, they are not alone.

Many Lagos residents are finding it increasingly difficult to pay their electricity bills due to several factors, including the harsh economy, rising inflation, high transportation costs and rent, among others.

…..Alia made the allegation during Friday’s Politics Today program on Channels Television, describing the situation as very unsettling and extremely unacceptable.

Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has accused top serving politicians in Abuja and the National Assembly of instigating killings, harbouring and feeding those responsible for the crisis in the state.

Alia made the allegation during Friday’s Politics Today program on Channels Television, describing the situation as very unsettling and extremely unacceptable. The Governor said that while the politicians were interested in fighting for their positions, it was his right to protect and serve the interests of the masses.

Although Alia declined to disclose the names of the politicians allegedly involved in the killings, he stated that a judicial panel had been set up to investigate the reasons behind the attacks, adding that the report indicted many big names and vowed to take up the matter when he receives the full report.

He said, “It is very, very unsettling because top politicians who are very functional and are in the National Assembly and are in Abuja, are the architects and arrowheads of not just instigating, but harbouring and keeping these people and feeding them in the bushes, and taking care of all their needs and buying all the other gadgets for them.

“This is extremely unacceptable. If they do not love the lives of the people and they’re only fighting for their own position, I think I am serving the interest of the common masses and it is a concern to me, and it is my right to protect it.

“We set up a judicial panel to sort out for us why we kept having attacks from within and from without, and we have received an interim report. Between Tuesday and Wednesday next week, I am going to get a full report from the panel.

“So once we receive this report that is coming, we are going to take it up and take it up very seriously. There are quite a lot of big names that are mentioned here, so this is where we are.”

The Republic of Ireland has deported no fewer than 35 Nigerians, including five children, to Nigeria in a chartered flight that departed from Dublin Airport on Wednesday night.

According to the Irish Mirror, the returnees, comprising 21 men, nine women, and five children, landed in Nigeria on Thursday.

Irish Minister for Justice, Jim O’Callaghan, said he was “happy to say” that all of them returned to Nigeria despite an unscheduled stopover due to a medical incident on board.

While the Irish government did not give a specific reason for the deportation of the Nigerian nationals, O’Callaghan only said, “Ireland has a rules-based immigration system. It is important that those rules are robust and enforced.

”However, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission said it was not aware of the deportation of the Nigerians by Ireland on Thursday.

The NiDCOM spokesperson, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, made this known on Thursday.