Following the approval of a 250 per cent electricity tariff hike by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on Wednesday, DAILY POST outlines what Nigerians should know about the hike.

Recall that NERC approved N225 per Kilowatt for ‘Band A’ electricity customers in Nigeria.

The development represents a significant shift from electricity subsidy in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry amid persistent epileptic power supply nationwide.

Customers Affected by Hike

NERC said that only Band A customers received at least 20 hours of power supplies from the eleven electricity distribution companies.

According to the Vice Chairman of NERC, Musiliu Oseni, only 15 per of the 12.12 million electricity customers in Nigeria are affected.

He explained that the tariff hike would not affect customers on B, C, D, and E, having less than 20 hours of power supply.

Implication of New Electricity Tariff

The hike implies that electricity consumers under Band A will pay 250 per cent more to get a power supply.

This means a complete electricity subsidy removal for customers under Band A.

Band A customers fall within 15 per cent of households in Urban areas in Nigeria.

According to NERC, Band A customers consume 40 per cent of electricity in the country.

However, the hike will not lead to an improvement in the electricity supply to the affected customers.

Date of hike commencement

According to the new tariff order, Discos commenced the implementation of the new electricity tariff on Wednesday, 3rd April 2024.

This means customers under Band A have begun paying 300 per cent more for electricity.

Meanwhile, since January 2024, customers across all bands have suffered epileptic power supply in Nigeria.

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, blamed gas constraints for the erratic power supply in Nigeria.

Air Peace, the Nigeria’s flag carrier commenced Lagos-London flight services last Saturday March 30 after seven years of test of endurance. Allen Onyema, the airline chief executive officer (CEO) deserves accolades for a hard-won victory which has also been hailed by many as victory for Nigeria and Nigerian air travellers.

And to discerning Nigerians, it cannot be anything less.  To those who are passionate about our country, it is a victory over swindling of Nigeria of about N3.7 billion annually by foreign airlines including British Airways that was by 2014 charging non-competitive fare of $10,070 for a First Class return seat from Abuja to London while the same facility through Accra costs $4, 943. It is also a relief for Nigerians relieved of the burden of having to travel to Ghana, South Africa or Morocco in search of cheap foreign airline tickets. It is also hoped this victory will bring into a closure ex-minister, Stella Oduah’s battle against deliberate violation of Nigeria’s aviation laws by foreign airlines.

And for those who have faith in our country, it is also a victory over local powers and principalities who cannot stand the success of their fellow compatriots but will rather cooperate with outsiders to kill their own “sun’ (apologies to Saro Wiwa) whether he be Chinua Achebe’s Okonkwo, Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, Congo’s Patrice Lumumba or Nigeria’s Obafemi Awolowo.

The betrayal by Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), as narrated by Onyema during his ARISE TV interview was despicable.  And no less repulsive was the complicity of corrupt bureaucrats in the  avoidable  frittering away of N200m by Air Peace to secure the services of consultancy firms from IATA just as  the action of unpatriotic government officials  who deliberately derailed the commencement of services operations long after the Nigerian flag carrier had  “actually procured their three-triple seven because of this route’,  because they wanted to give it the blow that it deserved at that time” cannot be anything but loathsome.

Onyema also did not forget to remind us of the international aero-politics which he admitted while speaking with ARISE Television on Monday, can be very dirty. He must  have been referring to having to clear his name over U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Georgia’s  November 22, 2019 press release alleging fraud and money laundering for moving more than $20 million from Nigeria through United States bank accounts out of which ‘over $3 million of the funds used to purchase the aircraft allegedly came from bank accounts for Foundation for Ethnic Harmony, International Centre for Non-Violence and Peace Development, All-Time Peace Media Communications Limited, and Every Child Limited.’. Added to this international conspiracy was the Gatwick authorities’ unusual demand of non-refundable 20 million pounds deposit, before Air Peace could start operation”.

Last Saturday victory lap was anchored by Onyema who took a leading position in the private airline operators’ battle against government’s proposed national carrier they argued was detrimental to the survival of airline local operators.

Buhari had in 2014 disclosed that President Jonathan fleet of about 11 aircrafts would form the nucleus of his planned national carrier.  It was not until July 18, 2018, that “the name, logo, colour scheme, structure, and types of airplanes of Nigeria’s national carrier were unveiled at Farnborough International Public Air show in London”. There we were informed about $308.8m had been set aside to cover aircraft acquisition and running costs for the airline’s take-off, with five of the projected 30 aircraft needed expected in Nigeria by December 19 2014. The new national carrier, we were told would operate 40 domestic, regional and sub-regional and 41 international routes. And that it would be a private sector driven ‘Nigeria Air’ in which government would own only 5% with Nigerians owing 46 per cent equity, while 49 per cent shares were reserved for strategic foreign investors.

Unfortunately, Buhari had credibility deficit especially with Hadi Sirika last minute stampeding of Air Ethiopia as favoured strategic partners on terms the current minister whose official report is yet to be released said was unfavourable to Nigeria,

Nigerians derived little joy from government past interference in the activities of the airlines especially the Stella Oduah’s ‘N330b Aviation Intervention Fund meant to address the financial challenges faced by airlines in the country” with N232.6b of it paid to 21 participating banks.  But records as at 2015, when Jonathan left government, showed that domestic airlines like Arik, Aero and Air Nigeria whose managing director led the crusade and got N35.5 billion government bail-out were owing AMCON over $700m debt

The mishandling of Nigerian Airways, Virgin Nigeria, Nigerian National Shipping Line, the four public refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna, of Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Company, Nigeria Railways Corporation” NEPA PHCN, banks oil companies, insurance, hospitality industry only increased Nigerians apprehensiveness about involvement of government in setting up of a national carrier or involvement of government in any business for that matter.

 And counting in favour of anti-national carrier, domestic airline operators and Air Peace this time around is the fact that they are not asking for government bailout. Their battle cry is that past government interference had been a disaster.

But while we celebrate the success of Air Piece and the triumph of domestic airline operators, it is important to remind Nigerians youths who lack a sense of history and the rest of Nigerians, who often suffer from collective amnesia, that there is nothing wrong with public enterprises. The problem was with our ill trained military men and their thieving new breed politicians

Our founding fathers following in the footsteps of Europe adopted the Keynesian macroeconomic model which supports government intervention for the purpose of national development instead of depending on market economy to liberate our people from poverty.  And this paid off as most of the public enterprises established by our founding fathers brought rapid development until after the civil war.  For that season, public enterprises formed the backbone of our economy. In fact, it was the golden era of Nigeria when the naira was as strong as pound sterling and stronger than the dollar with Nigeria giving interest free loans to some African and European nations. Up to 1983, estacode for those visiting Britain who by the way needed no visa, was N500 (five hundred naira).

Our nightmare started with Babangida’s ill-advised commercialization and Structural Adjustment Programme which saw many thriving federal and state-owned public enterprises sold to retired military personnel and their fronts who were never equipped to run such enterprises. Obasanjo and his military baked new breed politicians completed this betrayal when from 1999, they sold Nigeria’s total investment of about $100 billion acquired between 1959 and 1999 for a paltry $1.5 billion.

From then on, public enterprises became the scape goat to cover up the greed of politicians. It was used as an excuse by politicians without vision to justify underfunding of public universities to allow those who have access to state funds set up their own private universities, sabotage public water supply, the mainstay of our urban centres in the 60s and 70s to pave the  way for a regime of private water merchants  and to destroy Nigerian Airways to justify the setting up of Albarka, Okada, Oriental, Concord, Harka, EAS, Triad, Harco, Savannah, Bellview, ADC airlines their today’s reincarnations.

Onyema, like Dangote and other members of their tribe might be good corporate citizens, always aiding Nigerians in distress, celebrating Falcons, after victory and flying our national colours. But at the end, he is profit-driven business man running aviation business, perhaps one of the most sophisticated businesses in the world. He has to recoup costs of all the aircrafts he claims to own while the aircrafts must be certified globally.

Onyema is not into charity. He is in business to make money. And making money under market economy means taking advantage of the less privileged that our abandoned public enterprises were designed to protect.

The Federal Government plans to begin the issuance of domestic foreign currency-denominated bonds from this quarter, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, said yesterday.

A Reuters report quoted the minister as speaking at a parley with business leaders in Lagos.

The government move is expected to herald domestic issuance of similar bonds by companies and sub-nationals, a plan already given provisional approval by the country’s apex capital regulator.

The sovereign domestic foreign currency issuance aligns with government’s move to attract more forex inflows to stabilise the naira. Dollar shortages have had significant adverse impact on the naira.

Edun told his audience that the government would seek to sell forex bonds to Nigerians at home and abroad who, “because of lack of faith in the currency, have decided to try to hold and save in dollars.”

“All the funds in the diaspora, we are targeting them. There are all these funds that you have brought into your (local foreign currency) accounts, we are targeting them,” said Edun.

The minister said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in October 2023 signed executive orders to allow domestic issuance of instruments in foreign currency and also allow all cash outside the banking system to be brought into the banks.

He said that the government had not issued the bonds earlier because it sought to first build confidence in its fiscal policy and gain the trust of citizens who are sceptical of government policies.

Nigeria spends around 78 per cent of its revenue on debt servicing and the government has vowed to cut this to around 50 per cent.

“When they say what keeps you awake at night, I will say paying the debt service (cost),” said Edun.

Nigeria’s apex capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had given a provisional “no-objection” to the proposal to allow companies and governments to undertake dollar-denominated listings on the Nigerian stock market.

The proposal, being pushed by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), involves creation of a new listing platform for high-valued issuers to raise capital through dollar-denominated debts and equities issuances.

The proposal is considered as one of the quick-interventions to bolster the country’s foreign exchange (forex) position by exploring alternative sources and redirecting remittances and informal sources to a formal market.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Director-General Lamido Yuguda said the apex regulator has “no problem” with the proposal for dollar-denominated listings by qualified issuers.

According to him, the basic premise of regulation is full disclosure and demonstrated ability of an issuer to meet the required obligations imposed by the issuance.

He said SEC would treat such dollar-denominated listings by companies or governments on the same basis of the ability to meet the required obligations as contained in the issuance documents, and in line with extant rules at the capital market.

Lamido said investors’ protection is deeply ingrained in all regulatory consideration by the Commission as it continues to explore ways to further deepen the capital market.

The listing of dollar-denominated bonds and shares at the Nigerian stock market is targeted at easing access to forex for select companies, especially high-valued companies that require substantial forex for their operations.

Under the proposed two-phased plan, the NGX plans to start with quotation of dollar-denominated debt issues such as bonds and then move to listing of dollar-based ordinary shares and other quasi-equities.

The provisional approval by SEC is a major boost for the NGX forex proposal.

NGX Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Temi Popoola said the Exchange would work with the SEC to create the required regulatory framework for the dollar-based listing.

Changes to listing regulations can be achieved within a “relatively short time”, Popoola said.

He explained that the Exchange was banking on the market-oriented stance and reforms of the Tinubu administration to push the dollar-listing proposal through.

Popoola said the Exchange would be targeting companies operating from the special economic free trade zones and those earning foreign currency

The primary objective, he noted, is to enable these companies to issue bonds denominated in dollars and eventually offer equity in dollars.

“It could potentially address the challenges posed by fluctuations in foreign currency,” Popoola said in an interview with Bloomberg.

 Bloomberg reported that companies Nigeria consistently cite getting access to the dollars they need for raw materials as their biggest challenge.

The NGX also plans to work with SEC to initiate a framework that allows companies with home listing to pay dividends in dollars. Few companies with dual listings already pay dividends in dollars.

The NGX, which did not give a timeline for the launching of the plan, said government’s willingness to consider market reforms increases the prospect of success.

 “Given the proactive stance of the current administration, it is reasonable to anticipate that these objectives can be achieved,” Popoola told Bloomberg.

He pointed out that both retail and institutional investors have “substantial” amounts of dollars that domestic capital markets can tap to encourage more local listings.

“If the target companies cannot access dollars within our market, many of them may opt to list abroad,” he said.

[TheNation]

Recently, the CEO of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, got on the wrong side of the internet when he said anyone earning N200,000 monthly in Nigeria is better off than someone earning £2,000 in the United Kingdom. According to him in a TV interview, the Nigerian with a mere N200,000 can afford a maid, a driver, and other domestic staff while the person who earns £2,000 in the UK can barely get by. His superficial comparison somehow reminds me of Nigerians who conclude they live a better life after comparing the cost of Coca-Cola in their country to the US/UK.

Now, thanks to the internet, Onyema has received more than enough riposte to warrant him thinking hard and long (if he cares to anyway) about the degree to which he is out of touch with the Nigerian reality. If he believes that a person earning N200,000 in a country with a bag of rice around N80,000 can hire at least three others, it also tells you how poorly he thinks wage workers should earn. Yes, he is a private individual with the right to his opinion, but he also hires people and that is why his opinion on wages matters.

But what I find interesting about his comparison between England and Nigeria and the subsequent pushback from the inhabitants of social media is that it leaves off the important question of how much Nigerians should earn. What amount would be sufficient for an average household in Nigeria to live? Without an empirical determination of what people should be paid to live, the best we can do is to resort to facile comparisons about what a sum of money can buy under regimes of their respective currencies without factoring other intangibles being bought along. The way Nigerians—particularly the ones who cannot get over other people’s “japa” decisions—talk about how hard life can be abroad because people there pay bills, bills, and more bills makes you wonder if they are even aware of the extent to which their own supposedly “bill-less” society relatively over-taxes them. Nigerians probably pay far more—at least relative to their income—in social services than their foreign counterparts.

While a society like the UK might pay people a sum as low as £2000 (in Onyema’s estimation by the way), hardly anyone is left to live on just their income. Their public infrastructure and social security are so relatively excellent that even though one might not have enough cash to stack up in the bank, one is unlikely to be shouting “ebi ń pa wá!” on the streets either. In a place like the United States, a person with that low an income will qualify for public health insurance, food stamps, and possibly even rent assistance. So while they might be considered “poor” by their society’s (and Onyema’s) standards, their poverty is not as stark as that of a society with no such provisions.

The question of what a Nigerian household should earn to live is complicated by differing ideas of what constitutes a standard household in Nigeria and what it even means to “live.” In a culture where there is a high percentage of polygamous marriages and our family structures are largely communal, it is hard to benchmark a standard household. For one, “household” here is unlikely to be a nuclear family arrangement. Then, what it means to live varies because of the increasing privatisation of our entire lives. Those who live in societies where they earn a measly £2,000 monthly do not generate their own electricity and water, provide their own security, send their kids to third-rate private schools, or even be called to donate money towards ransoming an abducted relative. If they do not hire a driver, maid, and maybe even a gateman on their salaries, it is not simply because their incomes are too poor. It is because, despite their mere £2000, their system allows them to own a car (or at least have access to an efficient public transport system); they have home appliances that eliminate the need for a maid; and their mode of securing society does not involve high fences and metal gates manned by a “gateman.”

There are practical implications to not knowing what is a just and fair income and thereby making silly comparisons. One of my observations when hiring workers in Nigeria is that most lack an idea of proper calibration of their wages. Because they have not developed a statistical sense of value for what they do, they place the moral burden on you who is hiring them by telling you to pay what you consider fair. Value for their labour is thus negotiated, and contingent on moral considerations and sentiments rather than a standardised measure. Recently, I spoke with someone who pointed out how “corruption” was distributed through every aspect of our society. His example was an instance of price gouging by “pure water” vendors, but what came through in his complaints was the problem of not calibrating value. That is why even the modest attempts of a low-income vendor to make a living looked to him like a rip-off.

In 2019, I talked with some friends regarding the standard of living. There are a family of six (two parents, three children, and a relative). During our conversation, I argued that, for a household like theirs to live a relatively comfortable life, they should earn nothing less than N500,000 monthly. Husband and wife, both school teachers (in a public and private school), understandably laughed. They agreed their lives would considerably improve with a higher income, but who would ever pay teachers that amount? Of course, the question of who can pay such an amount as average income in the country is pertinent. Nigeria simply does not have enough economic activities for any employer, public or private, to pay people enough for them to live well. The minimum wage proposals the Nigeria Labour Congress has bandied about ranged from N500,000 to N1m, and people think the union leaders are being ridiculous. At the bottom of those figures being thrown up is the unsettled issue of how much people should earn in order to live and how to standardise it.

Meanwhile, about five years after I spoke to that couple, their income barely increased but the cost of living leaped up by many miles. Nigeria is no longer where it was in 2019; most people are barely coping. When people seeking to justify the Nigerian dysfunction mention the high costs of living in Western societies that drain their poor £2,000 salaries, I also remind them that as hard as things might be over there, they do not spend 80 to 120 per cent of their income just buying food. Nigerians earn so little that people even take loans to buy food. Not luxurious feasts, just enough food to survive. That does not make any sense.

Through the experiences of this couple and several others I would argue that to the matter of what Nigerians need to earn in order to live should be appended the question of how frequently those kinds of figures need to be updated. The Nigerian costs of living change so frequently that the income that hired three domestic wage workers years ago can barely sustain a four-person family now. Whereas the hypothetical person earning the £2,000 pittance can still do most of the things they were doing years ago. Their reality is not upended as quickly as that of Nigerians.

That is why, instead of wasting time and absolving responsibility by talking about what the person living abroad and ensconced within a system with tight social security and welfare benefits ultimately lacks, we should focus on fellow Nigerians and define what it would mean for them to really live.

Some communities in Abuja, Lagos and Nasarawa are currently experiencing power outages due to technical glitches.

The Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company on Tuesday said the service disruption was due to significant load restrictions across many of its transmission load centres.

According to the power distribution firm, the transmission stations affected include Oworo, Maryland, Itire, Isolo, Ogba, Alausa, Ejigbo, Alimosho and others.

“The current service disruption you are encountering is a result of significant load restrictions across many of our transmission load centres, particularly impacting:

“Oworo TS, Maryland TS, Itire TS, Isolo TS, Ogba TS, Alausa TS, Ejigbo TS, Alimosho TS, Ilupeju TS, Ayobo TS.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused. We are actively collaborating with relevant stakeholders to restore normal operations,” the Ikeja DisCo said.

In the same vein, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company informed its customers in Nasarawa that they were in darkness after windstorms brought down transmission lines.

Also, some areas in the FCT were said to be in darkness due to a technical fault.

“This is to notify residents in Nasarawa State: Uke, Gidan Zakara, Gora, Auta-Baleifi, Tukur Farm, CS Farm, Masaka, Keffi GRA, Luvu, Dunamis Community 1&2, Dadin Kowa, Keffi and its environs that the power outage currently being experienced is due to damage to the lines serving these areas, caused by strong winds.

[Punch]

Air Peace, Nigeria’s flag carrier, has announced an increase in capacity on its Lagos-London flights.

The airline made the announcement on its X page on Wednesday.

On March 30, Air Peace commenced its Lagos-London flight services.

During an interview on Arise TV on April 2, Allen Onyema, chief executive officer of Air Peace,  said the airline sold out tickets for the Lagos-London flights until September.

“Due to overwhelming demand and interest in our London route, we have decided to increase the capacity on the route,” Air Peace said.

“This means that more seats are now available.

“Air Peace would like to thank the Nigerian population, both in Nigeria and in the United Kingdom, for their support.

“We do not take it for granted, and we will be doing our best to continue to make the whole country proud.”

Meanwhile, on April 2, Onyema said the airline faced internal and external obstacles before it could commence Lagos-London flight operation, adding that it took the airline seven years to be able to commence operations.

He also said the country is being fleeced by all the airlines “going to London from this place”. 

Onyema said people were paying five times more than they should have been paying for flights.

[TheCable]

The Ondo State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Kayode Ajulo, has disclosed that he does not plan on paying his 273 aides from the coffers of the state government.

He explained that the designations are mainly honorary, adding that this means the lawyers do not have any right to receive financial remuneration or employment advantages from the Ondo State government.

He described the reaction that trailed the appointment as an “unfortunate misconception of issues.

Ajulo said that the aides will be classified as honorary and technical advisers, maintaining that they are comprised of professional and junior legal practitioners.

He noted that the aides would work closely with him to enhance what he described as ethical legal services to the state.

“Most of these designations are purely honorary, indicating that the lawyers do not have any right to receive financial remuneration or employment advantages from the Ondo State government.

A former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, has lambasted the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for describing him and a former Minister of Transportation, Abiye Sekibo, as “expired politicians” over their support for Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara.

Recall that last week, Secondus, Sekibo, who was director-general of the party’s presidential campaign council in Rivers State; Senator Lee Maeba, Celestine Omehia, and Austin Opara, an ex-lawmaker, openly declared their support for Fubara and urged President Bola Tinubu to caution Wike.

But, Secondus in a statement by his media aide, Ike Abonyi, described Wike as “a showman noted for his double-speak, twisting of facts to score some cheap political points, and someone who stands the truth on its head.”

He further described the FCT Minister’s utterances during his media chat with select journalists as “appalling and rather unfortunate, more so he characterised our revered political leaders of Rivers State, casting them in a bad light by referring to them as transitional politicians, political vampires, and political buccaneers.”

[Leadership]

A former lawmaker, Shehu Sani has aired his opinion on the recent announcements made by the Federal Government on the increase of electricity tariffs.

DAILY POST reports that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, on Wednesday gave the go-ahead to raise the electricity rates for customers in the Band A category.

During a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, the Vice Chairman of NERC, Musliu Oseni, announced that there will be a rise in electricity tariffs.

This adjustment will result in customers paying N225 per kilowatt-hour, up from the current rate of N66.

Sani, a former lawmaker, who represented Kaduna central district in the 8th assembly, said the increase would further reduce the living standard of Nigerians and kill businesses.

“Increasing electricity tariffs by 300% will finally electrocute human lives and businesses in the country,” he wrote on X.

[DailyPost]

Turkish club Trabzonspor have been ordered to play six home matches behind closed doors after violent scenes marred a league game with rivals Fenerbahce last month, the country’s football federation (TFF) said Wednesday.