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Outage as Electricity Grid crashes over strike by TCN workers

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The national electricity grid on Wednesday morning began a nosedive from over 4,000 megawatts (MW) to 762MW as workers under the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) began an industrial action to protest a compulsory promotion interview for principal managers, among other issues.

According to data from the Independent System Operation (ISO), a section of TCN, power generation on the grid was 4,149.40MW as of 6am from 21 power plants on Wednesday but drastically dropped to 1,635MW from 17 plants.

By 12 noon, the grid had crashed to 1,246.40MW as three power plants went off, and by 1pm, the grid dropped to 762.30MW with just 13 plants active. The peak generation achieved on Tuesday was 4,829MW.

Union’s grouse with TCN

The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) had protested on Tuesday, blocking the premises of TCN in Maitama after it issued a notice of the strike earlier, notifying that it would fully commence the industrial action on Wednesday.

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According to the General Secretary, Joe Ajaero in the notice dated 15th August 2022, the union protested against a directive by “the TCN Board that all Principal Managers in acting capacity going to Assistant General Managers, must appear for a promotion interview. This directive is in contravention of our Conditions of Service and Career Progression Paths, and unilaterally done without the relevant stakeholders.”

It also alleged stigmatization of staff from the office of the Head of Serve of the Federation from working in other areas in the power sector, as well as refusal of the Market operator at TCN to fund the payment of entitlement of ex-PHCN staff as agreed in December 2019.

Responding to the notice the same day, the Minister of State for Power, Goddy Jedy-Agba, noted the complaints and appealed to the union for time to resolve the issue.

“May we appeal to your great union to allow us two weeks from the date of this letter to address the issues and come up with proposals towards acceptable resolution of all issues,” he said.

More so, the Managing Director of TCN, Engr. Sule Abdulaziz, wrote a letter on 15th August, 2022 to NUEE stating that, “We are pleased to inform you that management has suspended the said proposed interview for those on the acting appointment of assistant general managers and general managers while we conclude the discussion with the board.

On the other issues such as circular from the office of Head of Service on stigmatization of the defunct PHCN staff and payment of entitlement of ex-PHCN staff by the Market Operator, Abdulaziz said the management had contacted the Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu, for further actions.

“In view of this development, we appeal to your union to stay in action,” he pleaded.

However, NUEE on 16th August, 2022, wrote back to the minister and the MD of TCN, insisting that the protest will continue. The union faulted the authorities for not resolving the promotion issues for three years and was not convinced about the issues regarding stigmatization at the Office of the Head of Service.

“On the stigmatization of staff from the office of the Head of Service of the Federation from working in other areas in the power sector, we are not sure you are speaking for the Head of Service after memos addressed to that office several months ago have gone without any acknowledgement,” the letter stated.

And for issues concerning the TCN board, NUEE insisted on hearing from the board and not through the TCN management or the junior minister’s office.

“Premised on the foregoing, we may be constrained to continue with this action by Wednesday 17th August 2022 with a total withdrawal of services. However, the union is still open to decisive discussions with relevant actors; with a view to proffering solutions to the issues raised and averting the total collapse of the sector,” Ajaero stated in the letter.

DisCos announce outage

In the meantime, there are pockets of outages in Abuja and the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) issued a notice telling customers the outage was due to the withdrawal of services by TCN workers who transmit bulk power from plants to DisCos’ stations.

Ikeja DisCo in Lagos also issued a notice saying the nationwide picketing affected most of its stations and disrupted power supply.

Enugu DisCo also announced in a notice to the customers that power supply to all the five south east states had been disrupted due to industrial action by TCN and advised customers to maintain vigilance over their transformers to forestall vandalism hoodlums during the period of the outage. (Daily Trust)

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Enugu Air Launches New Website

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…moves online services to www.enuguairlines.ng

Enugu Air has announced the launch of its new official website, enuguairlines.ng, as part of efforts to provide passengers and customers with a better, safer and more convenient digital experience.

The airline said the migration to the new website is designed to improve how passengers connect with Enugu Air and access its services online, including flight bookings, schedules and the latest updates.

Announcing the development, the airline said: “We’ve moved! We’re innovating! We’ve migrated to a better, safer and convenient website to connect you to the world.”

Passengers can now access Enugu Air’s online services through its new web address, enuguairlines.ng, which the airline described as its new digital home.

The airline urged passengers and prospective travellers to save the new web address and use it for flight bookings, checking schedules and obtaining the latest information about its operations.

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“Same Enugu Air. New web address,” the airline stated, emphasising that the change represents an improvement in its digital platform while retaining the Enugu Air brand and services.

The airline further encouraged customers to visit, www.enuguairlines.ng for all flight-related information and online services.

It further stated that the old website, enuguairlines•com has been discarded and no longer in use.

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Kidnapped female Police officer found dead in Ebonyi

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A kidnapped female police officer has been found dead in Ebonyi State after a suspected member of a kidnapping syndicate was arrested and led police operatives to the scene where her remains were recovered.

The Nigeria Police Force disclosed this in its state-by-state operational update issued by Force Public Relations Officer
Force Headquarters, Ani Iniedu on Monday, detailing several arrests, rescues and recoveries recorded across the country between September 19 and 20, 2026.

According to the police, the suspect was arrested following a sustained intelligence-led and technology-based investigation into the kidnapping of the female officer.

The suspect reportedly led combined police teams to the crime scene, where the remains of the officer were recovered.

The police said the case is being investigated by the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) in Abakaliki.

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In a separate operation in Adamawa State, police operatives rescued two kidnapped victims from a suspected kidnappers’ hideout in Shako Forest, Toungo Local Government Area.

The operation, carried out on September 20 following actionable intelligence, also led to the recovery of two magazines containing 10 rounds of 7.62×39mm live ammunition.

A National Identification Number (NIN) card, mobile phone, passport and chain were also recovered from the suspected hideout.

In the Federal Capital Territory, police arrested 334 suspects during coordinated raids on criminal hotspots, black spots and uncompleted buildings across several locations.

The operation, conducted on September 19, also resulted in the recovery of various quantities of substances suspected to be illicit drugs.

Meanwhile, police in Anambra State arrested a suspected child trafficker who was allegedly intercepted while travelling with a six-month-old baby boy.

The baby was recovered and handed over to the appropriate authorities for necessary action, according to the police.

In Kaduna State, four suspected members of a kidnapping syndicate were arrested following intelligence-led operations.

Police said the suspects confessed to their alleged involvement in kidnapping and provided information about fleeing accomplices. A locally made Dane gun was recovered.

Another suspected kidnapping syndicate member was arrested at Soba Market in the state. Police said the suspect also confessed and gave information implicating five fleeing accomplices.

In Ogun State, police arrested a suspect linked to a fatal shooting incident in Isara, Remo North Local Government Area.

One single-barrel gun, one live cartridge and one expended shell were recovered during the operation.

In Imo State, a suspect was arrested during a raid on a suspected criminal gathering at Nekede, Owerri West Local Government Area, with police recovering a locally made cut-to-size single-barrel gun.

Police in Ekiti State also arrested two suspects linked to multiple shop-breaking and stealing incidents in Ado-Ekiti and recovered suspected stolen iron rods.

In another operation in Ado-Ekiti, police recovered an abandoned white sack containing a pump-action gun loaded with two live cartridges and a locally made single-barrel gun from a farmland.

In Benue State, police tactical teams, supported by personnel of the Police Mobile Force and military, intervened in a renewed communal conflict at Akpa-Mbakor Community in Tarka Local Government Area.

The security teams dispersed the rampaging youths and restored normalcy in the area, according to the police.

In Oyo State, police arrested a truck driver allegedly involved in a fatal road traffic incident along the Ijebu-Ode/Idi Ayunre Road.

The truck was impounded for further inspection and investigation.

The police said all the cases remain under investigation by the respective State Criminal Investigation Departments.

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UK excludes Nigerian, Ghanaian-trained teachers from teaching qualification list

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Teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana are no longer eligible to apply for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England under the United Kingdom’s overseas-trained teacher application route.

The change took effect on September 9 and means teachers trained in the two West African countries can no longer use the route to obtain QTS, a status recognised by many schools in England.

The UK Department for Education said countries included in the scheme must meet specific requirements to ensure that applicants’ qualifications, professional standing and teaching experience can be properly verified. One of the requirements is that a country must have a national regulator capable of confirming a teacher’s professional status and providing authenticated references.

According to the department, Nigeria and Ghana did not meet the reference-verification requirement.

“Our data shows that more than 70% of applications from teachers in Ghana and Nigeria include work history references that use public email addresses, such as Gmail or Hotmail, rather than a school’s official email domain. This means assessors spend additional time and resources trying to verify information provided in applications,” the department said.

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The UK department said about 90 percent of applications are assessed within 12 months.

India was also removed from the eligible list because it does not have a national regulator capable of confirming teachers’ professional standing.

South Africa is now the only African country remaining on the list of countries whose teachers can use the QTS application route.

The department said the verification process was necessary to ensure that information provided by applicants was genuine and that teachers awarded QTS possessed the required skills and experience to teach in England.

To apply for QTS, overseas-trained teachers must have a valid passport, an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree and professional recognition as a teacher in the country where they trained.

Applicants must also have completed any mandatory induction requirements needed for full teacher registration in their country of qualification.

They are required to demonstrate that they are qualified to teach children aged between five and 16 and have at least nine months of teaching experience gained after qualifying as a teacher.

Applicants must also provide employment references that verify their work history and use an email address linked to the school’s official domain.

Depending on the country where a teacher trained, additional requirements may include qualifications to teach pupils aged between 11 and 16 and a specialism in subjects such as mathematics, science, biology, chemistry, physics, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin, Russian or Spanish.

However, because teachers in England are employed by individual schools rather than the Department for Education, schools may consider alternative routes into teaching.

The department said teachers who are no longer eligible to use the QTS application service can explore other routes into teaching in England.

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