CBN disburses N14.35 billion to DisCos for procurement of 263,860 meters
- A recent disclosure by the presidency has triggered angry reactions from Nigerians
- The presidency had announced that the CBN has so far disbursed N14.35 billion to DisCos for the procurement of 263,860 meters
- Nigerians who reacted to the announcement say no such programme exists
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The presidency has announced that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has so far disbursed N14.35 billion to the Distribution Companies of Nigeria (DisCos), to cover the procurement of 263,860 meters under the National Mass Metering Programme.
This information was contained in a tweet by the verified handle of the presidency on Thursday, January 21.
According to the CBN, the facility disbursed is a loan that must be repaid by the DisCos on the basis of the previously agreed amortisation schedule.
Consequently, the repayment is to be deducted from payments made by consumers into the DisCos accounts with commercial banks.
Source: Twitter
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Legit.ng gathered that the maximum tenor of the facility is 10 years but not exceeding 2030, while the moratorium on the principal amount is for a period not exceeding 24 months from the date of loan disbursement.
Nigerians have been reacting to the announcement via social media.
Legit.ng monitored some of the comments on Twitter, which was filled with complaints by many citizens.
Bekongfe Agweye wrote:
“Please can we unbundle the power sector and end the monopoly. Let us allow new entrants in distribution so the price of tariff and service will be better. One cannot use up 705units in 28 days for a house with less than 12hours light and no ACs.”
Dele Oyeyipo wrote:
“Where are these meters for God's sake? Are they been used by ghosts? There is time you go to them and get meters. Let God rescue us from claws of the discos.”
Onero Kyipi wrote:
“So much money disbursed but the country is in its worst economic state ever. Corruption!!!”
Isa Muhammad wrote:
“NEPA people are collecting more than 100k before giving out meters including bribe.”
Manga Enwezoh wrote:
“Was there no pre-qualification, technical and commercial criteria for selecting Discos. Why on E]earth we are wasting our scarce revenue. Because owners are cronies of those in power. They should go banks for loans.”
Kayode Oyedele wrote:
“Expect some DisCos to resist this initiative. These new meters require mounting on concrete poles, and where consumers through self-help installed wooden poles, these discos will not replace the poles in order to install the meters.”
Recall that the federal government recently asked the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to revert back to the old electricity tariffs.
The directive was contained in a statement issued by the minister of power, Engineer Saleh Mamman on Thursday, January 7.
A day before the government's directive, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had threatened to call for an industrial resistance if the new tariff is not reversed.
The president of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, accused the federal government of trying to further imperil the local economy with the tariff hike.
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