The Harbingerngr News

By Adekunle Adekoya IT is no longer news that electricity tariff has been hiked, ostensibly for users in what many now know as Band A areas, though in reality the tariff was hiked across all bands. I can support this assertion with readings from the bill sent to me by Ikeja DISCO, or IKEDC. I live in a part of Lagos classified to be under Band E. That is Egan, Igando in the Ikotun-Igando LCDA area.  That is part of the larger old Alimosho Local Government. In our area, we have remained on estimated billing to date; very few houses have pre-paid metres installed. We actually are not sure which band we are in, the bill sometimes read Band D or Band E. I will explain shortly. Prior to the tariff hike announcement, my bill for January 2024, sent by SMS, stated that the tariff is E-Non MD, with current charges of N1,679.15. A few weeks later, another bill dropped by SMS as usual, indicating a tariff at D-Non MD, with current charges of N2,518.73. Similarly, the bill for December 2023 in...

•As Police arraign 29 suspects in court THE Oyo State government, yesterday, demolished the building where Mrs Modupe Onitiri-Abiola, who declared that Yorubaland had become a sovereign nation. The storey-building is located in the Oluyole area of Ibadan. In a viral video, it was revealed that the house was pulled down following the discovery by security agents that the house was also being used as an armoury. It was gathered that she recorded the broadcast there then left the house before sending it on social media. A source, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said the suspect who has been in the run was using one of the rooms downstairs to store weapons, camouflage uniforms, boots and other items. Though, there was no one to confirm it, the state government has reportedly confiscated the building. The source said: “When the demolition was ongoing, all neighbours around denying seeing her. But, some of them said she lives in that house.” Security men and those who carried out...

THE National Association of Polytechnic Students, NAPS, yesterday, stormed Osogbo, the Osun State capital protesting against continuous disparity between Higher National Diploma, HND and Bachelor’s degree, saying it is time President Bola Tinubu assents to the HND/BSc dichotomy bill to end the imbroglio. The NAPS Senate President, Temitope Adeniji, while addressing the Deputy Governor of Osun State, Mr Kola Adewusi, who attended to them at the governor’s office, said the President should, as a matter of urgency, attend to the dichotomy bill and assent to it. Adeniji said: “We are here to send a signal to our father, President Tinubu, to put in the presidential signature to this bill and end HND/BSc dichotomy before May 29, 2024. “We observed that the president has been assenting to many bills, but HND/BSc dichotomy act hasn’t been attend to.   “Polytechnic students and graduates are one of the major groups that support this government, we shouldn’t be treated like an outcast i...

NO fewer than 45 persons have reportedly lost their lives as a result of a strange disease that hit Gundutse village in Kura Local Government Area of Kano State. Residents of the area, who confirmed the incident to newsmen said the strange disease has persisted in the area for over two weeks as victims exhibited unclear symptoms such as malaria, diarrhoea and vomiting. They said the victims were mostly women, children and elderly. A resident, who lost two children, Abu Sani, said his family initially thought it was malaria affecting his two-year-old son, who sadly passed away despite medical intervention.  He said after a week, another family member fell unconscious and also succumbed to the illness before reaching the hospital. Another resident, Hajara Abubakar, who took her son to a local clinic for treatment, said: “For over two weeks now, people have been dying here from an illness we are yet to know. So far, I know of 40 people who have died.” A source at the Gundutse clinic, ...

FEW days after commemoration of 10 years anniversary, another Chibok girl, Lydia Simon, has been rescued by troops of Operation Desert Sanity III, North East Operation Hadin Kai.  She was rescued with her three children by the troops of 82 Division Task Force Battalion in Ngoza LGA of Borno State, yesterday. Sources told Vanguard that, Lydia, who was on serial number 68 among the abducted missing girls, escaped from the camp of Ali Ngulde in Mandara Mountain, where she was held in captivity for several years. She surrendered to troops of 82 Division Task Force Battalion at Ngoshe in Gwoza LGA. The rescued Chibok girl was five months pregnant and claimed she was from Pemi Town in Chibok. April 14 marks the 10th anniversary of the violent abduction of 276 girls from Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, by Boko Haram insurgents.  While 57 of the girls escaped from their captors in the following days, 16 were later rescued and 107 have at different times been released...

*Explains why she married terrorist ONE of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls, who escaped in 2016, Amina Nkeki, has disclosed that some of her former classmates, still in captivity, now have at least three children each for insurgents.   Nkeki spoke when she featured on Sunrise Daily, a programme on Channels Television on Sunday. Nkeki, who regained freedom with a baby in her arms, is now a 200-level student of Mass Communication at a university in Yola, the Adamawa State capital. On April 14, 2014, terrorists stormed the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State and abducted about 276 girls. Some of the girls have been released through the years, others commandeered their escape, while about 108 are still missing. Nkeki said: “Some of them are mothers of three children, four children. It’s not easy for them. I feel so sad because that place is not a good place for anyone." She added that the former schoolgirls are facing hunger, sickness and many other challenges...

•Workers scamper for safety WORKERS at the Secretariat of Ilejemeje Local Government Area, in Eda-Oniyo, Ekiti State, scampered for safety, yesterday, as suspected gunmen invaded the secretariat. The hoodlums, who were said to have come from the Obbo-Ayegunle Community in the neighbouring Kwara State, violently stormed the secretariat, firing several gunshots. Workers ran in different directions and in the ensuing pandemonium, one of them was injured. The hoodlums were said to have vandalized the Secretariat building and other property of the council. However, the cause of the attack is still sketchy as at the time of filling this report, it was reliably gathered that the two communities have been embroiled in crisis for some time over land disputes. During the attack which lasted for several hours, one person was said to have sustained serious injury and was said to have been rushed to the State Specialist Hospital in Iye-Ekiti for urgent medical attention. Sources disclosed that the ...