20112022

2-MONTH OUTAGE: Our case against Eko
Disco — Crown Estate Residents
Stories by Tunde Oso
LAGOS—Residents of
Crown Estate, Lekki
Peninsula in Eti Osa Local
Government Area of Lagos
State are groaning over two
months of lack of electricity
supply to the community by
Eko Electricity Distribution
Company (EKEDC).
Narrating the genesis of the
Estate’s dispute with EKEDC,
Mr. Wole Ogungbola, Estate
Surveyor & Valuer, and Facility
Manager of Crown Estate,
told Vanguard that
EKEDC being a monopoly
has assumed an Alpha and
Omega role where residents
are at their mercy. “In a country
where there's law and order,
we ought not to be in darkness.”
He explained: About 12
years ago, when we were just
building they classified us as
a single customer by installing
one meter at the entrance
of the Estate on which they
would bill the Estate. They
called it Maximum Demand
Meter (MDM) on which we
were paying the bill. Even
when the meter developed a
fault and they estimated the
bill on us, we paid, even if we
have to bill individual residents
in the Estate. It however,
got to a point when it became
humongous and unrea-
WORRIED by the rise in
financial fraud as a result
of identity theft, DataPro
Limited, a compliance solutions
and technology-driven
rating agency in Nigeria has
made a case for the right investment
in technology to prevent
such infractions.
Citing the Financial Action
Task Force (FATF) 2020 Guidance,
DataPro stated that digital
ID systems must be used
by financial institutions (FIs)
and designated non-financial
businesses and professions
(DNFBPs) to assert and prove
a person’s identity online and/
or in a face-to-face environment.
DataPro since its inception
in 1995 has provided solutions
to end-users in their pursuit of
mitigating both business and
now -EKEDC
sonable that we complained:
about N32 million in 2011
and they on their own reduced
it to N25 million. When it
continued, we went to NERC
in Abuja. Initially we went to
report them at their EKEDC
Marina Complaints Forum
but discovered we cannot get
justice. And the Dr. Sam Amadi,
who was at the helm then
listened to us and gave an order
on 18-10-2011 that
EKEDC must come and reconnect
us and that they
should not disconnect us again
until we reconciled the account.
Despite the NERC order
they came twice to disconnect
us even when we haven’t
resolved the disparity.
Another issue that complicated
matters was that at a
time in 2011 that they came
into the Estate and were collecting
money from individuals
inside the Estate, even
when they were still billing us
by the MDM at the entrance.
Note that they were using different
tariffs for the general
meter at the entrance, which
was higher than the tariff they
applied inside the Estate for
the over 250 residents inside
the Estate: Meaning 2 different
tariffs for the MDM and
another for 250 residents in-
side the estate. All of these
problems they created themselves.
With the NERC order, they
realised they couldn't disconnect
us anyhow. However,
about 2 months ago, the transformer
supplying the Estate
became bad and had to disconnect
and we repaired it by
ourselves. When we finished
it, we asked EKEDC to reconnect
us, but they refused, saying
they would not do so until
we pay our debt.
“As we speak they have cited
3 different indebtedness of
N361million, Oct 28, 2022 in
a letter said N249m, in Dec
2020 they said N136illion,
demonstrating an inconsistent
monopoly. We have again
reported to NERC and an appointment
is scheduled for
Tuesday next week, they said
we should report to Abuja. We
have repeatedly asked them
to take over the collection of
the bills completely,” Ogungbola
concluded.
Another resident, who spoke
to Vanguard on condition of
anonymity lamented,
“EKEDC, from the look of
things, will keep us in the dark
for as long as they possibly can.
They know we can only take
so much pain in the face of rising
temperatures in the 90s.
Why banks must invest in identity theft,
financial fraud prevention, by Adeseyoju
OAAN Co-op holds first AGM, declares surplus
SECTORAL advertising
body, the Outdoor Advertising
Association of Nigeria
(OAAN) has inaugurated a
committee charged with evolving
a vibrant cooperative society
Ṫhe action, which was conducted
by its president, Chief
Emmanuel Ajufo gave birth to
the OAAN Cooperative and
Multipurpose Society (CMS)
was given the mandate among
other things, to evolve a robust
and viable cooperative society
that will complement the
OAAN brand and foster the interests
and welfare of members.
Chief Ajufo in his address said
that in the first year of its existence,
the CMS has surpassed
the expectations and encouraged
the management to continue
to improve in every area.
He asked those who had entertained
some level of skepticism
on the potentials of the
CMS to come in and become
part of the venture.
Chairman of the OAAN
CMS, Mr. Wole Odubanjo in
his welcome address at the first
annual general meeting of the
body which took place at the
OAAN house, Amuwo Odofin
•Part of debt just paid, to be reconnected any time
compliance risks.
According to DataPro, Anti-
Money Laundering and Countering
the Financing of Terrorism
Countering Proliferation
Financing (AML/CFT/CPF)
compliance onboarding for
KYC, and Transaction Monitoring
Systems (TMS) need to
be fully digitised in order to
reduce the incidences of identity
theft, fictitious account
opening and fraudulent transaction.
This, it said, “Is necessary to
support global and national
efforts at combating money
laundering, terrorist financing
and proliferation financing.
However, as it is with any new
or emerging technology, there
are risks involved in the adoption
of digital ID systems that
have to be understood and
said that the OAAN Cooperative
and Multipurpose Society
(CMS) have been able to overcome
the initial problems associated
with the take-off of a
joint venture like this “and we
can safely conclude that we are
clear on how to navigate
through the coming years taking
full advantage of our vibrant
and dynamic OAAN constituency".
Mr. Odubanjo noted that
the membership strength is
properly dimensioned.”
As parts of its November
Open-House raining programme,
DataPro has hinted
of plans to focus on how Compliance
Officers, IT personnel,
as well as the business people
in banks, FinTechs and other
financial institutions can understand
and mitigate the regulatory,
business, technology,
cybersecurity, data protection
and other associated risks involved
in digital identity systems.
The programme tagged:
‘Digital Identity and AML/
CFT/CPF Compliance,’
will highlight emerging
and technology risks associated
with the adoption of
digital ID systems for
KYC, CDD and EDD purposes.
• From left: Registrar, OAAN Cooperative and Multipurpose
Society (CMS), Mr. Femi Alabi; Barrister Mrs. Nkiru Sampson;
Chairman OAAN CMS, Mr. Wole Odubanjo; Assistant
Area officer, Mr. Asaye Daniel, President Outdoor Advertising
Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Chief Emmanuel Ajufo
and Mr. Alfred Akokhia during the first Annual General
Meeting of the body, which took place at the OAAN house,
Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.
on the increase and that the
scope of operations has also
been increased through commercial
loans, sales of essential
commodities and support
for payment of school fees
with other products being developed.
The chairman declared
that in the year under
review, that they have been
able to generate a net plus of
N1, 012,945. 90, only out of
which dividends will be paid
to members.
SUNDAY Vanguard, NOVEMBER 20, 2022, PAGE 29
Life Beer assures consumers of premium
quality at Seed-to-Sip forum mission today,” he said.
MUSIC industry icon,
Anderson Obiagwu,
aka ‘Big A’, explores another
side of his multi-layered
personality, once again,
donning his creative hat as he
teams up with Afrobeats
godfather and friend, 2Baba,
for ‘Aristo’.
With the release of ‘Aristo’,
‘Big A’ ticks the A&R box in his
amazing Afrobeats journey
coursing through stellar stints
as tour/concert promoter,
facility owner, label executive,
media mogul and award
ceremony executive producer.
It’s no longer news that
Afrobeats has taken its pride
of place in the music world,
but besides the artistes who are
the visible faces of this
beautiful journey, there’s also
the equally important behindthe-scenes
support structure
that have contributed to the
beautiful story. One such
personality is ‘Big A’.
As CEO of ‘Big A’
Entertainment, publishers of
African Music Magazine,
organizers of AFRIMA
Awards, amongst other
business interests, Big A is
In what it tagged Seed to
Sip forum,Life Continental
Lager Beer has re-assured
it’s consumers of quality satisfaction
as well as sustenance
of its promise on the Nigeria’s
premium beer.
At the event, organised for
the brand’s stakeholders at the
Nigerian Breweries, Ama in
Enugu State, the management
reiterated its readiness
to provide consumers with
quality and satisfying products.
Reports have it that the double-brewed
Life Beer is produced
through a rigorous, yet
satisfying process to produce
a premium lager that delightfully
leaves the taste bud calling
for more. From locally
sourcing the best ingredients
to the expert distilling and
maturing of the beer, the double-brewed
Life Beer delivers
premium quality from seed to
sip.
The tagline ‘Life for
Progress’ is a constant reminder
that the brand will always
be in support of its consumers’
progress journey,
just as the brand itself is on
a journey of consistent
progress.
In his welcome remarks,
The Brewery Manager of
Nigerian Breweries Ama
Enugu, Mr Peter Ani stated
that Nigerian Breweries has
established a niche for consistent
innovation, adding
that the company prides itself
in the production of
quality and deeply satisfying
products, one of which
is Life Beer, a brand that
strongly supports the Igbos.
“This Seed to Sip forum
is about you, our consumers,
and we remain committed
to ensuring that the
brand consistently and
maximally satisfies you. It
is my special pleasure to
welcome you to see how we
make Life Lager. We want
you to experience how we
make Life from seed to sip,
from grain to glass, and by
the time we finish today you
will see the difference between
A and A, that is our
Speaking on the giant strides,
the Senior Brand Manager of
Life Continental Lager Beer,
Aishat Anaekwe noted that the
Double-Brewed Seed to Sip forum
is consumer-focused as the
brand is continually on a progressive
journey to satisfy and
celebrate consumers.
“Life Continental Lager Beer
has become a brand, synonymous
with progress, and this is
why we stop at nothing to satisfy
our consumers’ desire for quality
lager beer. We decided to go
a step further to ensure Life Beer
comes with a double-brewed
quality - Double Brewed for
That Premium Quality Taste.
I’m happy to announce that Life
Beer has a premium and refreshing
taste brewed for consumers’
enjoyment, and this seed-to-sip
forum is a testament to our commitment
to constantly keep you,
our consumers, satisfied. Our
tagline, “Life for Progress” is a
constant reminder that the Life
brand will always be in support
of your progress journey, just like
the brand itself is on the journey
to making more progress.” she
said.
‘ARISTO’ SEASON: ‘Big A’ drops single featuring
2Baba
•Big A’ with 2Baba
widely regarded as the
foremost Afrobeats
promoter in North America
helping to grow the
movement from the fringes
to the mainstream of the
touring space.
2Baba reminds us of his
playful side on the track,
produced by Richie, with
crisp visuals shot in Texas, USA
and Uganda and directed by
Patrick Ellis.
‘Aristo’ is the first single/video,
from the upcoming visual
project, ‘Crossover’, an exposè
on Big A’s contributions to the
growth of Afrobeats delivered
through music, visuals and
interviews.
Ex-agitator hails emergence of Smith as
Amnesty chair Phase 3
By Jimitota Onoyume
E x-agitator
President of and
the
Urhobo Youth Council,
UYC, Abuja Chapter, Gen.
Peter Aghogho, has
described the emergence of
Gen. Godday Smith
(Bounanaowei) as the
National Chairman of Phase
3 of the Presidential Amnesty
Programme, PAP, as a
welcome development.
Aghogho, in a statement,
recalled that Bounanaowei
who is also the national
leader of the Ijaw Priests
Association, has been in the
struggle for about three
decades, understands the
Niger Delta agitations and
could effectively handle the
new assignment.
The statement
commended the new
Amnesty boss, Major
General Barry Ndiomu rtd,
for facilitating the peace
process between Gen.
Julius Joseph and Gen.
Tonye Bobo led by Mr.
Angalapele, the chairman
of the stakeholders’
management committee.
“The meeting peacefully
and naturally brought
about the emergence of
Gen. Godday Smith as
national Chairman of
phase 3 of the
programme”, he stated.
On Tonye Bobo, the
Urhobo youth leader
said: “I also want to say
that he should be ignored.
He was brought in by the
former leader of the
programme to
destabilize it. He is not a
leader. We are all aware
of the effort of General
Those displaced by
the recent flood in
Otu-Jeremi, Okwagbe
communities, Ughelli
South local government
area of Delta State were
full of gratitude as they
got a live cow and several
items at their Internally
Displaced Persons, IDP
camps, to cushion the
effect of the flood.
The Manager,
G o v e r n m e n t /
Community Relations
and Security of NEPL,
ND Western OML 34, Mr
Sheidu Aiguedo, said the
impact of the flood in
several of the
communities was
Smith to ensure the third
phase was approved. The
amnesty office should ignore
Bobo. He is not even a camp
leader. He doesn’t have the
right to say people should not
attend a meeting “
Also speaking, the
National Secretary of
Meinbutus, Comr. Ebi
Wayas, said Bounanaowei
with his wealth of experience
over the years would carry all
the ex-agitators along.
Firm donates relief materials
to flood victims
devastating.
“This is the worst
experience in many years in
this country. We brought
cows, rice, beans, and an
assortment of food items to
support them and identify
with them because we see
them as our major
stakeholders and there is no
better time than now to
demonstrate that. It’s a
continuous demonstration of
our corporate social
responsibilities and also in
appreciation of the support
we are getting from them”,
Aiguedo explained.
The Chairman of the Otu-
Jeremi community, Mr
Michael Oghenegueke
thanked the firm for the
gesture.