
- We want our meters, not EKDC’s Band A estimated billing –Institute
- Institute should write FG for inclusion in 50% tariff rebate –Ministry
ENERGY CRISIS The management of Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) is worried that the institute is excluded from the 50 per cent electricity tariff rebate announced by the Federal Government to tertiary education and health institutions
For the umpteenth time, the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, Lagos, has raised concern over the financial burden caused by high electricity tariffs, and its attendant threat to research activities and other mandates of the institute.
This is as the institute is insisting that if an urgent step was not taken by the Federal Government to tackle the financial burden imposed on the institute by the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKDC), the menace would cripple activities of NIMR.
Worried by the development, NIMR’s Director-General/CEO, Prof John Oladapo Obafunwa, again cried out last week that the institute is greatly under the threat of high electricity bills, which he described as the “biggest threat and challenge” of the institute.
Obafunwa, who blamed Eko Electricity Distribution Company, the company in charge of power supply to the institute for the high tariffs, he appealed to the Federal Government to rescue the institute and other research institutes currently passing through such a plight from the grip of high energy cost.
He, however, decried a situation in which NIMR is being forced to pay through its nose the high power charges monthly in the face of nonavailable resources; even as he traced the energy problem confronting the institute and many others to when tertiary educational institutions, Teaching Hospitals/health institutions and research institutes were moved to “Band A” Feeders by the various Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) across the country.
Faced with this dilemma, Obafunwa wondered how the EKDC came about what the institute pays monthly when there is no meter in NIMR to actually determine what the institute consumed every month.
The DG criticised the modalities of placing NIMR and other higher educational institutions under Band A where they charge on estimated billing, which he regretted had been counterproductive for the institute.
Piqued by the action of the electricity companies, the DG lamented that NIMR in August last year paid N49 million electricity bill; September (N48 million); October (N44 million); November (N34 million); and in December (N43 million), while the electricity bill for January had also been paid, which he explained, were not captured in the Federal Government’s allocation to the institute.
Obafunwa, who also stated that NIMR is not owing EKDC till date, explained that the N39 million backlog his administration inherited had since been paid immediately he assumed office.
Raising the concern last week, during the maiden media parley, organised by the institute at its Yaba, Lagos, Headquarters, the DG lamented that NIMR was not captured or covered in the Federal Government’s 50 per cent electricity subsidy for tertiary educational institutions, teaching hospitals/health institutions and research institutes, a development, which he said, has made the institute and other research institutes to grapple with burden of high tariffs monthly despite the non-available resources.
The DG, therefore, expressed worry over the exclusion of NIMR from the 50 per cent reduction in energy bills for health and educational institutions, saying such action would continue to hamper efficient service delivery and
…the issue of high electricity bill is a big problem which the institute has to tackle boldly
slow down research efforts, which is its core mandate of the institute. Addressing journalists, he wondered why NIMR was not captured in the 50 per cent electricity subsidy given to tertiary institutions and government hospitals, knowing fully well that NIMR is a medical research institute, whose mandate is to conduct medical research and develop diagnostic kits on diseases and other health challenges of the nation.
Thus, while appealing to the Federal Government and other concerned authorities to include NIMR as a beneficiary of the 50 per cent energy rebate in order to cushion the impact of the high energy cost, Obafunwa recalled that NIMR under his watch had written no fewer than four letters to EKDC and the Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC), respectively, over the worrisome development and the urgent need to address such.
The Professor of Forensic Pathology, who insisted that the Band A has created a lot of problems for the institute, said the decision to exclude NIMR and other research institutes from the rebate was a costly error and tactless.
He said: “NIMR is not a teaching hospital where patients are charged fees, or a university, polytechnic or college of education, where students pay school fees for the institutions to generate income.
“NIMR is a research institute, which does not see patients or have students that pay school fees. It is a research institute that conducts medical and health research on diseases and develops diagnostic kits and medicine for the treatment of the diseases.”
The DG, therefore, condemned the threat and any action of EKDC to shut down or disrupt power supply to the institute, saying such action would only result in massive damage to the institute’s ecosystem, especially research activities.
Obafunwa, however, called on the Federal Government to listen to their appeal by including NIMR among beneficiaries of the 50 per cent concession in the face of limited running cost available to the institute.
Regretting the situation, which he described as appalling, the DG explained further that to avoid being disconnected from power supply by EKDC the institute resorts to private donors for funding assistance to pay the huge monthly electricity bills.
“But, things cannot continue this way. How long are we going to rely on donors to offset our monthly electricity bills?” he noted.
As part of moves to tackle electricity challenges of the institute, the DG stated that discussions were already ongoing with some companies for the installation of solar power and panels in the institute, as alternative power supply,” he noted.
Obafunwa, who also added that over 95 per cent of NIMR research is funded by foreign donors and sponsors, noted that most of the research equipment and reagents used for research are temperature sensitive, and any obstruction to power supply would lead to colossal damage and loss.
The DG added: “If power supply to NIMR should be shut down at least for one day or less, what that means is that all the samples and reagents that are temperature sensitive, as well as all the analytical processes and research would go down to waste.
“Added to this is that the institute will lose the confidence of the foreign donors and other stakeholders, since the money or funds for these research are coming from foreign funders.
“Apart from having discussion with EKDC over this seriously challenging matter, we have written several letters to the company that NIMR could not continue this way, and thus the institute should be given pre-paid meters which will be installed in every place, whether laboratories, residential or offices.
“The situation has been so bad that in the last few months we had to resort to rationing power supply in the institute by shutting down residential areas between 9am and 4pm daily, but what he discovered is that this has not achieved any significant effect on our bills.
“We want pre-paid meters to be installed in every place in the institute so that we can accurately estimate the amount of electricity we are consuming monthly, and not the one under estimated billing we are currently burdened with.
“We want the meter panel installed here in the institute for us to verify the reading. I have complained to the EKDC that we do not have a meter panel at NIMR, but the company has continued to read the meter in their Jibowu office.
Also, I have told them that this cannot work.” Obafunwa, who noted that the issue of high electricity bills is a big problem which the institute has to tackle boldly, however, added that the management is also looking at the possibility of alternative power supply to the institute.
“We need a solar power system and inverters. I have contacted some organisations outside the country and relevant authorities such as the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education to help us.
Power is a big problem in NIMR and we just have to face it headlong. Their excuse is this issue of Band A, but it goes beyond that,” he said.
Ministry
However, when contacted, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Power, Mr Bolaji Tunji, while speaking to New Telegraph on phone, said he was not aware if NIMR and other research institutes were captured or not in the 50 per cent electricity tariff rebate announced by the Federal Government for higher institutions and other allied institutions, such as research institutes and Teaching Hospitals.
But, he noted that as government-owned research institutes they should be included or captured in the subsidy regime in order to cushion the impact of the new electricity tariffs introduced by the Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC).
If truly NIMR and other research institutes are excluded from the approved subsidy, Bolaji, therefore, advised NIMR to write a formal letter to the government, stating the need for them to be included to benefit from the 50 per cent reduction in electricity bills as approved by the Federal Government.
Consciously, President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government had in August last year approved a 50 per cent rebate or reduction in electricity tariffs for health and educational institutions placed on ‘Band A feeders’ by the Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs).
The challenges of high energy tariffs slammed on tertiary institutions and Teaching Hospitals placed on Band A Feeders, has since last year become a thorny issue in the institutions, which accused the various DISCOs across the country of making life unbearable for them.
The humongous energy bills, has led to the indebtedness of many institutions to the Electricity Distribution Companies as they could not pay the high bills, while energy supply to the institution is being cut at will by the companies due to inability to pay.
Meanwhile, Mrs Aisha Mahmud of NERC Consumers Affairs Commission, could not be reached, while SMS and WhatSap messages sent to her phone were not acknowledged or replied.
Welfare
On staff welfare, the DG, however, noted that the management is having a cordial relationship with the workers, and promised that the healthy relationship would be sustained.
According to him, the welfare of staff was part of priority issues at a recent meeting in Abuja, where he made case for the need to put in place adequate welfare package for the staff members, especially the junior workers.
Subsequently, Obafunwa stated that plans were being intensified to take care of accommodation for those staff living far, especially in Ikorodu, Mile 2/Badagry, Berger/ Ibafo axis; and Lekki/Ajah axis by providing shelters for them in the institute, or provision of buses that can take them to and from work daily.
In a related development, the DG spoke of plans to invigorate activities in NIMR and reposition the institute for optimal performance, particularly as he pledged his administration’s determination to resuscitate the institute’s outstations in some parts of the country.
Apparently, the renewed move, according to Obafunwa, is to broaden NIMR’s research activities as the nation’s leading research institute charged with the conduct of research on public health issues in Nigeria.
In view of this, the DG said all the outstations in Maiduguri, Borno State; Kainji in Niger State and Asaba, Delta State that are currently dormant, except that of Asaba where some collaborative work is being done with the state Ministry of Health, would be upgraded, strengthened and put into proper shape for use.
“Part of my administration’s plans for 2025 is to deploy some very senior researchers of the institute to these outstation facilities in order to reposition and strengthen them to be fully functional,” he said.
Activities
Speaking further, the DG listed some major challenges of NIMR to include funding, as more than 95 per cent of the institute’s research are funded by foreign donors and sponsors.
These, according to him, include the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Longrich, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and other institutions and organisations.
But, he lamented that such reliance or dependence on foreign grants for research and collaboration would only make most of the researches tilt towards the donors or sponsors’ areas of interest, and not particularly appealing to local content.
Worried by the development, he spoke of urgent need for the country to recalibrate its focus on the people’s health needs and research with local contents.
He, therefore, pleaded with the government, legislators, private sector and philanthropists to invest and fund research in NIMR so as to develop local content for Nigerians’ medical needs, even as the DG insisted that insufficient funding is one of the major challenges of the institute.
But, he explained that with the right funding, the institute has the human capacity and equipment to develop diagnostic kits and medicine for all prevailing health conditions in the country.
The DG listed inadequate funding for research and insufficient running cost as a huge challenge to the institute, saying: “We are appealing to the government and private sector to invest in NIMR for research.”
Consciously, he called on anyone, organisations that has any issue that NIMR can investigate to kindly approach the institute, saying NIMR has the capacity and human resources to develop medicines and diagnostic kits for all health conditions ranging from diabetes, heart failure, sickle Cell, renal failure, kidney problem, malaria, Lassa fever, among others in relation to their genetic predispositions.
He stated: “NIMR is not only diagnosing these diseases, but also developing diagnostic kits, carrying out surveillance, and developing medicines for diseases, such as Monkeypox, Lassa fever, Hepatitis B, among others.
According to him, NIMR is being rededicated and refocused to relate what is happening in the institute to the public and outside world concerning people’s medical or health needs.
The DG, who explained that these kits are produced at the institute by the researchers, said this should be encouraged and supported by the government and private sector with more funds in order to save foreign exchange, and discourage taking samples overseas for investigation.
On the outbreak of Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) Infection, the DG, who noted that there is no outbreak of the epidemic in the country, however, noted that despite that assurance NIMR had already prepared by developing diagnostic kits for the disease, which he said was first discovered in 2001 in the Netherlands, and not China.
“We are asking for more funds. The institute is intensifying and collaborating on research on cancer, and prostate cancer in our laboratory, and we want a situation where NIMR research is commercialised in order to reduce reliance on foreign donors and sponsors,” he added.
Speaking on the global disease, the Director of Research, Dr Bamidele Iwalokun added that already NIMR is working in collaboration with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NDDC) on the Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV) Infection, with the setting up a committee on the disease.
As part of the preparedness, he said NIMR has developed a document on the epidemic to work with, while surveillance is also intensified in order for early detection and curtailment of the disease.
When asked about the increasing rate of antibiotics resistance in the human body in the country, Director of Research, and the most Senior Researcher in the institute, Prof Stella Smith, in her remarks blamed this on the manner in which Nigerians patronise chemists and drug shops, or pharmacies for drugs without doctors’ prescription.
This is as she noted that such practices, to a large extent, have resulted in drug resistance, saying:
“Lack of proper evaluation of a sickness or disease, misinterpretation of investigation either for lack of right personnel in the diagnostic laboratories, or the health personnel want to address the interests of their patients without consideration for the effects of such practices, and abuse of drug dosage, are some of the reasons for drug resistance.”
Therefore, Prof Smith raised the concern for adequate and sustainable education, as well as enlightenment of Nigerian public to discourage them from self-medication and from patronising chemists without prescription, and strict adherence to prescribed drug dosage, stating that as long as these practices are not curtailed, drug resistance would continue to persist.