Inundated with consumer complaints on exploitative electricity billing, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has summoned all electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) in the country to a hearing on alleged outrageous billings, based on estimated consumption.

The Council, in response to numerous complaints of electricity consumers on estimated billings and non-provision of metres, issued the summon to each of the distribution companies, warning that absence by any of the companies at the hearing would be regarded as a violation of its enabling Act.

The Federal Government’s apex consumer protection agency, in a letter dated August 26, 2015 and signed by its Director General, Mrs. Dupe Atoki, has fixed Monday, September 7, 2015 for the hearing on these issues.

The agency, in its letter, stated that it “has been inundated with complaints commonly referred to as ‘crazy billing’, by which Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) are alleged to arbitrarily determine consumption level of consumers of electricity and bill them accordingly”, adding that it also “received complaints that many consumers have paid for metres for periods spanning over 12 months, but are yet to be supplied same by their respective DISCOs”.

It  pointed out  that pursuant to these complaints, it has decided to commence investigation to “enable your organisation as well as other DISCOs make representation and individually state your position regarding the said complaints, particularly as they affect consumers in the area of your coverage.

“You are, therefore, by this letter summoned to attend, make representation and submit a status report on the aforementioned complaints in your area of coverage, including any other document or evidence, to support your position at the hearing”, the Council declared.

CPC, in its letter, cautioned the DISCOs to be “guided by Section 18 of the CPC Act that criminalises disobedience of summon, which includes neglect or refusal to attend and testify before the Council or to answer any lawful enquiry or to produce any document as may be required”, advising the companies to “note that, whether you attend or not, far reaching decisions, which may be of consequence to your operations, may be taken after the hearing”.

The Council’s action is in line with the dictates of its mandate, which empowers it to provide speedy redress to consumer complaints, ensure that consumers’ interest receive due consideration at appropriate forum and provide redress to obnoxious practices or the unscrupulous exploitation of consumers by companies, firms, trade association or individual.

Ahead the governorship primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa state, former Managing Director Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Timi Alaibe, have picked Nomination and Expression of Interest forms to seek the ticket.

A group, identified as friends of Timi Alaibe, led by Senator John Branbaife, who obtained the forms yesterday on behalf of the former NDDC boss, said that his achievements over the years prompted them to do so.

He told newsmen that his group have taken pain to search for a particular candidate who has what it takes to rescue the state and have find thise quality they needed in Alaibe.

“So we have decided to buy the form for him and present it to our people as the most favourable candidate because he will be the best to take the mantle of leaderahip in Bayelsa.”

While presenting the forms, National Organising Secretary of APC, Osita Izunaso, revealed that Alaibe is now number tenth aspirants that have shown interest.

He assured that the national leadership of APC will ensure that the primaries is as credible as the one they conducted last week Saturday in Kogi.

Reacting in an interview to governor Seriaki Dickson’s report that APC does not have a credible candidate to unseat him in Bayelsa, Senator Branbaife, said: “Dickson is not a candidate of APC and he has right to his opinion, but I want to assure you there is nobody including Dickson himself that can stand the APC candidate Alaibe, there is nobody in APC or anywhere else in an election in Bayelsa state. So, whatever he is saying that is his own personal opinion and thats a political statement.”

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has said President Mohammadu
Buhari was operating as a president of the Northern Nigeria only,
describing steps taken by the president since May 29, 2015 as tainted
in ethnic and tribal colouration, which is inimical to the unity of
Nigeria.

The governor, who descried what he called President Buhari’s
“Nothernisation of Nigeria,” said “appointments made by the President
so far negate the principle of federal character and it appears the
unity in diversity of Nigeria is being taken for granted by the
President.”

According to a statement issued on Monday, by his Special Assistant on
Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose
said it was wrong for President Buhari to have made 31 major
appointments and only seven will come from the South while 24 were
from the North.

He asked; “Under Buhari, are people from Southern Nigeria only meant
to be hounded and harassed by anti-corruption agencies and the
Department of State Security (DSS) while those from the North are
meant to enjoy federal government juicy appointments?”

The governor said “apart from lopsided appointments being made by the
President, I am worried that construction of Lagos-Ibadan expressway
has been slowed down while work has stopped on Lokoja-Abuja roads,
which are the major roads linking the Southern part of Nigeria with
the North.

“Also, we have been told by the Federal Government that the Second
Niger Bridge project has been suspended and one is now beginning to
remember how Buhari cancelled the Lagos Metroline Project in 1985 at a
loss of over $78 million (then) to the Lagos tax payers.”

Governor Fayose, who maintained that Nigeria can only move forward if
there was equity and fairness, said those who made the country’s
constitution and enshrined the principle of Federal Character were
mindful of the ethnic diversity of the country, adding that President
Buhari’s running Nigeria as if he was a Northern Nigeria’s President
was not in the interest of the country.

“They said the President made the appointments on merit and I wish to
ask whether there are no competent people in the All Progressives
Congress (APC) in the Southern part of Nigeria, especially South-East
where no one has been appointed.

“Are they saying Igbo leader like Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, who graduated
with a first class honours degree in Chemical Engineering at the
University of Lagos, is not competent to be appointed as Secretary to
the Government of the Federation (SGF)?

“To my mind, these lopsided appointments skewed in favour of the North
is a reminder of President Buhari’s tenure as Military Head of State
and I hope the President is not seeing Nigeria of today as that of
1984 because doing so will mean that he has turned himself to a
northern president, thereby justifying his notion that those who gave
him 97 percent votes must get more benefits than those who gave him
five percent votes.”

Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said Sunday that Russia has agreed to begin delivering its advanced air defense system to Iran “by the end of the year.”

The Lebanese Al Mayadeen news outlet quoted Dehghan as confirming the delivery date of the Russian-made S-300 surface-to-air missile system.
The report added that Tehran officials were in talks with Moscow regarding the acquisition of 30 Russian-made Sukhoi fighter jets.

Reports of the finalized deal come several months after Russia repealed its embargo on Iran, when both countries began to expand military ties the wake of a historic nuclear deal reached between Iran and six world powers last month.

The talks were held last week on the sidelines of the Moscow MAKS 2015 air show, and were attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian Vice President for Science and Technology Affairs Sorena Sattari, Iranian media reported.

Israel has long sought to block the sale to Iran of the S-300 system, which analysts say could impede a potential Israeli strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities. Other officials have expressed concern that the systems could reach Syria and Hezbollah, diluting Israel’s regional air supremacy.

The S-300 is capable of tracking multiple planes at once and some versions have an interception range of 200 kilometers, and is considered to be one of the most sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons in the world.

Russia initially agreed to sell the advanced system to Iran in 2007 but then balked, saying at the time it was complying with a United Nations arms embargo.

Shortly after the Lausanne outline for the nuclear deal between P5+1 powers and Iran was signed in April, Russia announced it was lifting the ban on selling the advanced missile defense system to Iran, despite US and Israeli objections.

Moscow believes the framework agreement permits the delivery of the missiles without waiting for removal of sanctions intended to deter Tehran from developing its nuclear program.

–

Jonathan Beck and Adiv Sterman contributed to this report.

Christopher Uche, Yenagoa

The Bayelsa Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) may have been embroiled in a fresh crisis as the remaining aggrieved leaders in the party are seeking to remove the acting Chairman, Chief Serena Spiff-Dokubo, before the party’s primary election.

The leaders, who formed a splinter group, the PDP Unity Group (PUG), were said to have insisted that  Dokubo was not qualified to hold the position.

Many stalwarts of the party, former political office holders and the party’s state Chairman, Col. Sam Inokoba (retd) have been deserting the PDP for the All Progressive Congress (APC).

The PUG is an anti-Governor Seriake Dickson’s group comprising mainly governor’s former aides who were controversially sacked and other party leaders not disposed to Dickson’s second term bid.

It was gathered that a meeting organized recently in Government House, Yenagoa, to resolve the impasse between the PUG and Dickson ended in a deadlock.

Members of the PUG led by its Coordinator, Mrs, Marie Ebikake, were said to have rebuffed all entreaties from Governor Seriake Dickson to sheathe their sword.

Ebikake and her group were said to have argued that Dokubo hails from a different zone (Bayelsa East) from the former chairman, Inokoba, (Bayelsa Central) contrary to the provisions of the party’s constitution.

Besides they were said to have pointed out that Dokubo despite parading himself as the acting chairman is also an employee in the state’s judicial service commission against the provisions of the party law.

Signs that the meeting ended in fiasco emerged yesterday following the decision of the group to send a petition to the Acting National Chairman of PDP demanding immediate removal of Spiff-Dokubo.

Copies of the letter signed by Ebikake and the group’s Secretary, Bokolo Bonsome, were sent to the Acting Chairman of PDP’s Board of Trustees and the party’s South-South Vice-Chairman.

The group in the letter said the appointment of Dokubo as the acting chairman of the party was illegal and a nullity from the beginning.

Quoting from  Article 14.5 of the PDP constitution, the group posited that Dokubo was not supposed to have been appointed the acting chairman.

The Article said: “Where a vacancy occurs in any of the offices of the Party, the Committee shall appoint a substitute from the zone where the officer originated pending the conduct of election to fill the vacancy”.

The group explained: “By the current subsisting zoning arrangement of party offices in Bayelsa State, the State Chairmanship position is zoned to Bayelsa Central Senatorial District while the State Deputy Chairmanship position is zoned to Bayelsa East Senatorial District.

“The occupants of these positions until recently are Col. Sam Inokoba (retd.) (Bayelsa Central) Chairman and the Deputy Chairman was Chief Nyanayo Tubo (Bayelsa East).

“Before the unilateral and arbitrary appointment of Chief (Barr) Serena Dokubo-Spiff, we have it on good authority that Governor Dickson forced Chief Nyanayo Tubo to resign from his position as Deputy Chairman to contest election into the State House of Assembly, An election he lost scandalously to the APGA candidate for the State House of Assembly.

“The subsequent replacement of Barr Serena Dokubo-Spiff is considered an illegal and unilateral imposition on the Bayelsa East Senatorial District as it is clearly ultra vires, the provision of Article 14.5 of the constitution of the Peoples  Democratic Party.

“Consequent on the above and being guided by the provisions of our party’s constitution we state that the nomination of a candidate to replace the former State Chairman Col Sam Inokoba (Rtd.) can only be validly conducted by the party’s stake holders from the Bayelsa Central Senatorial District.

“This submission is premised on the fact that the chairmanship position is zoned to the Bayelsa Central Senatorial District. Furthermore the office of the Deputy Chairman which is originally zoned to and occupied by somebody from the Bayelsa East Senatorial District can only be validly replaced by a nominee from the stake holders of that Senatorial District.

“It is pertinent therefore in the interest of justice to allow stake holders from the Bayelsa East Senatorial District to nominate a credible person to replace the former State Deputy Chairman who had resigned his position to contest election.

“We wish to emphasize that our continued insistence in doing what is right is for the overall interest of the party. As a group, we nurture no ambition but are committed to ensuring that the PDP triumphs in the December 5, governorship election.

“We therefore wish to appeal with all sense of humility and candour, that the speedy resolution of these demands will re-assure our party faithfuls and supporters of the commitment of the national leadership to an open, credible, and transparent conduct of party congresses for the forthcoming gubernatorial elections, which is a panacea to our party winning the forthcoming governorship election in the state.”

Seven communities were on Sunday flooded in Demsa and Numan local government areas of Adamawa, following heavy flow of water from Kiri dam in the state.

Kiri dam is in Guyuk Local Government Area. The dam, from the Gongola River, is about 30 kilometres length and 15 kilometres wide.

Alhaji Haruna Furo, the Executive Secretary, Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA), made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yola.

Furo said that the most affected areas were Bilachi, Bali, Mbongado, Dwam Sabo and Kabawa in Demsa area while Imburu, Hayin Gada and Gbalang were affected in Numan Local Government Area.

“ The state emergency team together with top state government officials had visited some affected communities.

“And after cross examination, we are going to resettle them in secured and conducive rescue camps,’’ Furo said.

He said that the state government had started making contact with various relief organisations for immediate response and rescue mission.

Furo also confirmed that no life was lost in the incident but that thousands of people had been rendered homeless.

Mr. Lumsun Dili, member representing Demsa Constituency in Adamawa State Assembly, who was among the officials that visited the affected areas, said that over 12,000 people were affected in Demsa area.

Dili told NAN that thousands of farmland, houses and domestic animals were submerged and lost in the flood.

“My fear is that there is possibility of cholera outbreak in the affected communities.

“Infact, we have hired about three huge engine boats to start evacuating the victims, ” Dili said.

According to him, about additional 15 villages may be affected if necessary measures are not put in place to prevent flooding in the area.

He, however, expressed concern that, as a matter of urgency, government should respond to the needs of the victims to avoid the outbreak of sanitation-related diseases.