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FG- Imo: :Regulatory Oversight of The State Electricity Market Is Now Underr ISERC

By Favour Ifeoluwa & Akinola Ajibade  The Federal Government yesterday( Monday) announced the transfer of Regulatory Oversight of the Electricity Market in Imo State to the state electricity regulatory commission, otherwise known as (ISERC). In a statement issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Common( NERC), the development is in compliance with the amended Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) and the Electricity Act 2023 (Amended), reiterating that all transfers envisaged by this order shall be completed by 31 December 2024. According to the Commission,the transfer Order’s provisions include: “Direct Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) to incorporate a subsidiary (EEDC SubCo) to assume responsibilities for intrastate supply and distribution of electricity in Imo State from EEDC, and that EEDC shall complete the incorporation of EEDC SubCo within 60 days from 27th June 2024. The subcompany shall apply for and obtain licence for the in

Nigeria, 72 others in debt crises, says IMF

By Akinola Ajibade

The International Monetary Fund( IMF) has passed a vote of no confidence on Nigeria and other seventy two countries, declaring that their economiees are in crisis and as a result, are at high risk of debt distress.. 

It further said that the counties are either at risk of debt distress or already in debt distress.

Citing a new report titled: Restructuring debt of poorer nations requires more efficient coordination”.the global financial institution describes the countries as poorer and therefore require proper assessment and complete rejuvenation.

The bank noted that low-income countries face fewer debt challenges today than they did twenty five years ago, due to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative, which slashed unmanageable debt burdens across sub-Saharan Africa and other regions.

The Bank said that" Although debt ratios were lower than in the mid-1990s, the debts have been creeping up for the past decade and the changing composition of creditors would make restructurings more complex,the bank said. Adding that:“About 60 percent of DSSI countries are at high risk of debt distress or already in debt distress—when a country has started or is about to start, a debt restructuring, or when a country is accumulating arrears.

Spurred by low-interest rates, high investment needs, limited progress in raising additional domestic revenue, and stretched systems for managing public finances, the debt ratios of DSSI countries have increased, partly reversing a decline seen in the early 2000s.

“Now, the economic shocks from COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine are adding to the debt challenges faced by low-income countries, even as central banks start to raise interest rates.”

The report said that among the 41 DSSI countries at high risk of or in debt distress, Chad, Ethiopia, Somalia (under the HIPC framework), and Zambia have already requested debt treatment

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