As part of its Children’s Day celebration, PalmPay, through its Young Stars initiative, has rewarded 60 outstanding students, inspiring young learners across public schools.

The initiative goes beyond rewarding high-performing students, it is also about building confidence, widening ambition, and reminding children that their future can be bigger than their present circumstances.

For Mohammed Jubril, one of the beneficiaries, the recognition has already changed how he thinks about what is possible.

Inspired by the support he has received, Mohammed shares a bold dream for the future: “I want to become a governor one day so I can help more children like me get access to education and opportunities.”

His words capture the deeper impact of the Young Stars programme. For many of the children recognised. The award is not just a reward for past performance. It is a signal that their efforts matter, their dreams are valid, and their future is worth investing in.

During the engagement sessions at the event, the pupils also excitedly shared their aspirations, speaking with enthusiasm about the careers they hope to pursue in the future. From doctors and teachers to engineers, pilots, and entrepreneurs, the children expressed big dreams and a strong sense of purpose, reflecting how early encouragement and recognition can help shape ambition and confidence.

For many students in public schools, access to educational support often determines not just academic outcomes, but how far they allow themselves to dream. Through the Young Stars Initiative, PalmPay is helping to change that narrative by affirming that excellence deserves recognition, and potential deserves investment.

For Mohammed’s family, the impact is both practical and deeply emotional. His father describes the recognition as a moment of renewed confidence for his son and a reminder that hard work can open doors to real opportunity.

As the initiative continues to reach more pupils across Lagos public schools, it leaves behind a powerful message; when children are supported, they don’t just perform better, they dream bigger.

Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in Nigeria generated a total of N597.55 billion in revenue during the first quarter of 2026 despite persistent power supply challenges and consumer complaints over service delivery.

The figures are contained in the latest commercial performance factsheets released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

According to the data, the 11 electricity distribution companies collectively recorded N204.74 billion in revenue in January, N196.68 billion in February and N196.13 billion in March, bringing total collections for the three-month period to N597.55 billion.

The report showed that the companies maintained an average monthly revenue collection of about N199.18 billion during the period.

NERC’s data revealed varying levels of commercial performance among the distribution companies, with differences in billing efficiency, collection efficiency and revenue recovery rates.

In January, the DisCos billed customers N268.20 billion and recovered N204.74 billion, leaving N63.46 billion in unpaid bills.

The sector recorded a billing efficiency of 79.72 per cent and a collection efficiency of 76.34 per cent during the month.

In February, total billings stood at N242.29 billion, while collections amounted to N196.68 billion, resulting in an outstanding balance of N45.61 billion.

Billing efficiency improved to 87.44 per cent, while collection efficiency rose to 81.17 per cent.

For March, total billings reached N246.43 billion, with revenue collections of N196.13 billion, leaving a shortfall of N50.30 billion.

Billing and collection efficiencies for the month were recorded at 83.89 per cent and 79.59 per cent respectively.

The report also highlighted significant volumes of unbilled energy across the quarter, indicating ongoing operational and commercial challenges within the electricity distribution segment.

Among the top-performing firms were Eko Electricity Distribution Company and Ikeja Electric, which consistently posted stronger revenue recovery rates.

Eko DisCo notably achieved a recovery efficiency of over 100 per cent in February, according to the report.

However, some operators continued to face collection challenges.

Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company recorded one of the lowest recovery efficiencies during the review period, posting 41.20 per cent in February.

The NERC commercial performance report tracks key indicators including energy received, energy billed, total billings, revenue collections and recovery efficiency to assess the operational and financial health of electricity distribution companies.

The revenue performance comes against the backdrop of continued complaints from electricity consumers over high tariffs, estimated billing, inadequate metering and frequent power outages.

Nigeria also experienced significant power supply disruptions during the first quarter, largely attributed to gas supply constraints affecting electricity generation.

Industry data indicated that electricity generation at some points declined from about 4,000 megawatts to below 2,000 megawatts due to shortages in gas supply to thermal power plants.

Operational data from the Nigerian Independent System Operator showed that thermal plants require about 1.63 billion standard cubic feet of gas daily to operate optimally.

However, actual gas supply as of Feb. 23, 2026, stood at approximately 692 million standard cubic feet per day, representing less than 43 per cent of required demand.

The shortfall forced several generating plants to reduce output or shut down operations, prompting the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to implement load-shedding measures across the national grid.

Industry stakeholders have continued to advocate improved metering, stronger measures against energy theft and enhanced customer service to improve sector efficiency and revenue collection.

As part of Connecting Africa, CNN’s Victoria Rubadiri meets companies making deals to expand intra-regional trade. She also sits down with Sanya Alleyne the Adviser to the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Business Council to get a sense of the current landscape of South-South trade.

At the Afri-Caribbean Investment Summit in Abuja, Nigeria, Rubadiri meets Aisha Maina, the brains behind the summit who believes providing the opportunity to meet face to face is the pathway to creating a tangible trade link. She explains why this is her belief, “When you go to the Caribbean and you go anywhere in the world, they talk about African drums, they have the African dances, but because they’re so far away from Africa, it’s what has been handed down. And I wanted them to see the real thing, what we have […] it has become a flourishing relationship, and that’s why I keep saying that the bridge is built. Because they have connected.”

From agriculture to financial services, businesses leaders have said that no sector should be overlooked if new partnerships are to be formed. Alleyne delves into how this looks for trade with the Caribbean, “The Caribbean has a longstanding history in being able to attract foreign direct investment. And the same goes for the continent of Africa. It is just about being able now to drill down into the weeds of it and being able to flesh out a framework that we can be able to facilitate, create a trade.”

For Alleyne, the next ten years are hoping to hold, “Regular commercial flights between the continent and the region. I think success would be being able to trade in our indigenous currencies to settle payments. And I also believe success would be the ability of our peoples to understand each other, become closer, and see ourselves as one.”