Five things to know to start your Friday

NERC says Discos may shoulder power transmission repair cost

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has said that power distribution companies may begin to bear the cost of equipment used to repair faulty transformers and other transmission infrastructure replacements.

It said if the measure is implemented, it will ensure Discos are more prudent and careful with the management of electricity infrastructure.

This came as the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies, Joy Ogaji, said that Nigeria recorded 162 cases of grid collapse from 2013 to date.

System migration won’t affect banking services – FirstBank

FirstBank has reassured its customers that the upcoming transition to a new cloud-based procurement and financial platform, scheduled for Saturday, October 26, will not affect their banking services.

While the lender, which serves over 42 million customers, previously acknowledged that the migration may result in temporary service disruptions, these disruptions will specifically impact vendors, not customers.

The bank clarified in a statement on Thursday saying, “This transition relates to the bank’s platform with suppliers only. It does not affect its banking systems, customer transactions, channels, etc.”

Hurricane Helene damage estimated at $53bn

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Lawmakers in the state of North Carolina have passed almost $900m in aid spending for Hurricane Helene disaster relief, but they say that is only a preliminary figure as the final bill is still being calculated.

State legislators unanimously passed $604m in additional funding on Thursday, on top of $273m that was previously approved.

But the catastrophic flooding and destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina last month likely caused at least a record $53bn in damages and recovery needs, the state’s Governor Roy Cooper announced a day earlier.

Debt servicing hindering Nigeria’s socioeconomic development – IMF

The International Monetary Fund has said that Nigeria allocates the majority of its revenue to debt servicing, leaving limited funds for critical development projects.

Speaking during the Fiscal Monitor press briefing at the ongoing IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington DC, Davide Furceri, Division Chief of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, emphasised the need for Nigeria to adopt more effective revenue mobilisation strategies to ease this financial burden.

Furceri noted that Nigeria’s debt service-to-revenue ratio stands at around 60 per cent, significantly constraining the government’s ability to invest in social and economic programmes.

King Charles acknowledges Commonwealth’s ‘painful’ history with slavery on summit agenda

Britain’s King Charles said on Friday the Commonwealth should acknowledge its “painful” history, as African and Caribbean nations continue to advocate for reparations for the country’s role in the transatlantic slave trade.

Representatives of 56 countries, most with roots in Britain’s empire, are attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) that began in Samoa on Monday.

“I understand from listening to people across the Commonwealth how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate,” King Charles said in a speech to the summit.

“It is vital, therefore, that we understand our history, to guide us towards making the right choices in future.”

The demand for Britain to pay reparations or make other amends for transatlantic slavery is a long-standing one, but has recently gained momentum worldwide, particularly among the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the African Union.

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