Nigeria | Page 118 of 223

Citizen is a column that explains how the government’s policies fucks citizens and how we can unfuck ourselves.
The ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or Petroleum is now N151.56 per litre. Of course, you won’t find this dark news on the PPMC’s website (except you go on the dark web, haha). But the Petroleum Pricing Marketing Company is the subsidiary of the NNPC empowered to “profitably and efficiently market refined petroleum products” in Nigeria, and they have dealt us their hand, albeit via kurukere and under g means.

Peep the “Internal Memorandum”:
“There are leaks everywhere, even in your boxers” – Lord Baelish
How Does This Affect The Price of Garri In The Market?
Tbh, this news shouldn’t come as a surprise. NNPC’s Mele Kyari had announced since April that there was no more subsidy on fuel products, which means that government was no more paying the difference between the Expected Open Market Price (EOMP) of fuel and the pump price.

Basically, how fuel subsidy works is that government pays the difference between the EOMP and the pump price (or retail price), so that you, the consumer and citizen, does not not end up paying an overly exorbitant price for fuel.

The EOMP contains the purchase, landing and distribution cost of refined petroleum. The government pays a part of this price so that the end price is bearable to Nigerians. This end price is then the “pump price or retail price” of fuel, and all of this prices are regulated by the PPPRA – Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency. Of course, the agency responsible for the pricing of petroleum products in Nigeria.

Again I ask, Will Garri Be More Expensive?
Pardon my fixation with Garri. I really like Garri I can’t lie, even though not like some oga I know whose name start with a certain F. But, is this fuel price increase bearable?

Tbh there has never been a good time to increase product prices anywhere in the world. I mean, I have never heard a Nigerian market woman talk about good sales during Xmas. Its the same old “Market is not moving this year o”.

But this roughly N151 per litre ex-depot price increase is particularly notable because crude oil is only selling at $45. So why should fuel prices be increasing this much when the cost of the underlying commodity, crude oil, is still low. I mean, China has to buy crude oil before refining and selling back to Nigerian marketers. So why this high retail cost? And then it struck me – foreign exchange.

Note that fuel price increase for August was N138.52 per litre. And so what we have in Sepetember is a N13.04 increase. Meanwhile, June’s recommended fuel price was N121.50 per litre. So what is the message? It is that the landing cost keeps getting higher? Perhaps because of the devaluation of the naira and the increase in dollar.

But this price would have been offset if there was a subsidy, which there currently isn’t. What’s more? The PPPRA who stated that they would be issuing monthly “market based guiding price for petroleum” have not issued anything for two months now.

And We Have Been Talking About Ex-Depot Price
Note: Ex-depot price, not retail or pump price.

Essentially, oil marketers like your ‘filling stations’ will still have to input additional prices after purchasing a litre of oil from the depot at N151.56. Many of them have stated that retail price are in para mode and they have stated that retail price may go as high as N160, as they will add “whatever the NNPC has added to the depot price”.

Well, we just have to wait and see, and drink more Garri. Nothing is impossible with MBuhari on the throne.

Check back every weekday by 10am for more Zikoko Citizen articles.
Just tired of staying in the same place? Want to explore? We compile 5 of the best things we have heard about Calabar.

1. Richness in Culture
Calabar culture is one of the richest cultures in Nigeria, varying from food, to dances to festivals and carnivals. You should give the city a visit.

2. The Land of Carnivals
Unarguably, no city comes close to Calabar with regards to festivals. The Calabar carnival is a festival of sorts. Excuse the pun.

3. Exquisite Cuisines And Flavours
Tired of the same meal? Go to Calabar for the smoked fish peppersoup, over even the famous Edikang-Ikong soup.

4. The Best Dances and Dancers
Ever heard of the Ekombi dance? You need to go Calabar to find out.

5. The Stunning Girls
From the stories, you can a whole Bible about Calabar girls. But regardless, we love them. And if you love them too, visit them.

For your next read, 7 of the best things we have heard about living in Jos.
Citizen is a column that explains how the government’s policies fucks citizens and how we can unfuck ourselves.
So, its fair to say that it is becoming standard procedure to be invited by the Department of State Services (DSS) if one makes any comment that is deemed to be targeted at the Government, or that is considered ‘hate speech’ or inciteful or any other related kind of public statement.

But, in short, we still do not know the exact reason why the DSS invites people over comments. But let’s find out.

Origin of the SSS (or DSS)

The State Security Service (SSS) was created in June 1986 by Decree 19 of the Ibrahim Babangida Military administration. This decree dissolved the National Security Organization into three different splinter security organizations under the office of the Co-ordinator of National Security.

These security organizations were: The State Security Service, The National Intelligence Agency and the Defence Intelligence Agency.

Ironically, the SSS is now commonly known by many Nigerians as the DSS (Department of State Security) – a name that is still controversial and many say is not in line with the law.

Mandate of the SSS

The major mandate of the SSS is in Subsection (3) of the National Security Organizations Act which charges it with the responsibility for:

a) the prevention and detection within Nigeria of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria;

b) the protection and preservation of all non-military classified matters concerning the internal security of Nigeria; and

(c) such other responsibilities affecting internal security within Nigeria as the National Assembly or the President, as the case may be, may deem necessary.

Is The DSS Abusing Its Powers?

Within the past few weeks, we have seen repeated invites from the ‘DSS’ to people who were deemed to have made hate speeches and/or inciteful comments.

Obadiah Mailafia, a former CBN deputy Governor and Presidential candidate was invited by the department over claims he made on a radio interview that he had intelligence that a sitting governor is a commander of terrorist group – Boko Haram.

Just recently, news also surfaced online that celebrities Don Jazzy and Tiwa Savage were allegedly invited by the outfit over comments and claims made about the President Buhari administration. The report further claims that these celebrities were warned to be careful with their social media posts and that a certain #WeAreTired hashtag has been discontinued by Tiwa Savage.

But, given that the DSS has recorded huge wins in the past, including the October 2010 interception of a large shipment of ammunitions from Iran through the Apapa port, one cannot argue that the security outfit can not be effective when it wants to be.

We just hope that intelligence and counter-intelligence activities are properly balanced with human right considerations, and the freedom of all Nigerians to many rights, including speech, and subject to all relevant laws of the land, including the constitution.

Check back every weekday by 10am for more Zikoko Citizen articles.
1) Wizkid VS Davido

The day this happens is the day Twitter will hang.

2) P-Square VS Styl Plus

Complete with insane early 2000s outfits.

3) Tiwa Savage VS Yemi Alade

Arguably the most consistent female artists in the industry right now.

4) MI VS Vector

It could be a hit battle or freestyle battle. Fingers crossed they end up throwing hands.

5) Phyno VS Olamide

I just hope this doesn’t become an Igbo VS Yoruba thing on Twitter.

6) Omawumi VS Waje

2 vocal powerhouses.

7) 2Face VS Wande Coal

Teenage me would die.

RECOMMENDED: 5 Amazing Advantages Of Sleeping Naked
Citizen is a column that explains how the government’s policies fucks citizens and how we can unfuck ourselves.

CTRL J – Japa
Last Friday, Jason Njoku, the CEO of Video-on-Demand platform Iroko TV dropped a not-really-bombshell bombshell on Twitter. He announced via a blog post and Twitter threads that the tech company is fully exiting (read: leaving) Africa after so many years of losses and losses.

Amidst a series of reasons about why the company loses about $300k monthly because of its Africa operations, Jason Njoku spoke of how the CBN Naira devaluations of this year and the previous years have greatly affected the business. For example, in 2015, a N3,000 annual plan was introduced for customers, which was converted at $18 (N166/$). In 2017, that N3,000 plan became $8.33 (N360/$). Today that N3,000 plan is $6.3 (N477/$). And there’s still more devaluation coming, allegedly.

You can see what happens when a currency keeps falling to another. Money keeps leaving the table. Miraculously.

Why Is The Naira Always Falling To The Dollar?
One phrase – Demand Imbalance.

Nigerians generally need dollars to meet a lot of obligations – including for international school fees, business travels, medical expenses, international airlines tickets, student maintenance allowance, including the importation of crucial raw materials.

What’s more? There is no actual dollars to meet those demands. Our traditional means of gaining dollars which gives us 90% of foreign exchange earnings is through the sale of crude oil, but the Covid-19 pandemic means we are selling less oil for even lesser prices.

Our other sources are all depleted at this time. The Forex reserves which is supposed to serve as a buffer in these times has a little over $36 billion dollars in its coffers, an amount certainly not enough to bridge the dollar demand gap.

All of this means that when the market smells a dollar scarcity, traders begin to hoard the dollar. The price then goes up and and you need more Naira to buy it. The Naira’s bandwidth is then widened through devaluation to allow for a purchase of dollars, and cycle continues.

How Will You Survive These Times?
Tbh, we don’t know. You can send a mail to Godwin.Emefiele@cbn.gov, or pray that oil prices miraculously begin to trade for around $70 and above. But, reading all of our Naira Life stories is a good place to start. May the force be with you, and with us.

Check back every weekday by 10am for more Zikoko Citizen stories.
“A Week In The Life” is a weekly Zikoko series that explores the working-class struggles of Nigerians. It captures the very spirit of what it means to hustle in Nigeria and puts you in the shoes of the subject for a week.

The subject of today’s “A Week In The Life” is an online sex worker in her early twenties. She talks about hating her body, the Nigerian factors like NEPA that affect her work, and her biggest fear of one day getting exposed.

MONDAY:

I’m up by 3 am every day. I don’t say wake up because I have no choice in the matter. I get up early because my audience lives in the USA and 3 am in Nigeria is their midnight. At midnight, they are all awake and horny. So, once I’m awake, I start pushing out content (pictures and videos) to my abroad subscribers until like 6, 7 am. Once I’m done, I go back to sleep until around noon.

Today, after waking up and showering by noon, my day resumes. I’m not filming so I decide to do promos (a discount on my OnlyFans content) on Twitter and Reddit. I schedule my promo to around 3 pm Nigerian time because that’s when the Americans wake up so this ensures that they see me. These promos, especially on Twitter, help to keep engagements up and get new subscribers. I also reply to one or two messages because it’s important to interact with current subscribers while trying to get new ones.

The Reddit promo stresses me out because Reddit is a rabbit hole. Like today that I’ve decided to focus on Reddit promo, I’m ignoring everything else for the next 2hrs to do it well.

How Reddit works is that you have to find different subreddits to post in. Sometimes, you have to search with keywords. Sometimes you have to check other girls’ pages; girls that look like you. I can’t post in a subreddit where they want skinny girls (I’m not skinny), I can’t post where they want tight tits (I have saggy breasts), I can’t post where they want light-skinned girls ( I’m dark-skinned). So, I have to search for keywords. For example, there’s a subreddit called “chubby” that has 200,000 members so girls like me can post there. There’s another one called “ass” that has almost 200k members where you just go to post your ass. But Reddit also has rules – some subreddits don’t allow you to sell content while others are specifically for selling. Some won’t allow you to post a picture with your watermark in it so I have a folder for pictures without my watermark for those.

Some have no rules so you can do whatever you like. I like the ones without rules because I can manipulate it however I want — I can advertise my work and put whatever caption I want without the fear of getting banned.

The only upside is that Reddit subscribers are profitable. A lot of big tippers and people who are into fetish come from Reddit. And because fetish videos are expensive, they give me tips. So, this makes it worth it.

So, I plan to keep searching groups and posting links until midnight. Then I’ll sleep because by 3 am, I go again.

TUESDAY:

Today, I start my promo a lot earlier because it’s Titty Tuesday and everyone loves Titty Tuesday. I have to get my post ready so I can post under some babe’s thread. She’s the organizer of this movement and because she has over 400k followers this means that I’ll get a lot of engagement. I always make sure to send her my post early so she can add it to her thread.

People ask me how I’m comfortable sending pictures of myself but I tell them that I’ve always wanted to do OnlyFans. I think that it’s a talent I’ve always had. Initially, when I started, my content was lazy. But then I started looking at other girls and I realised that if I wanted to do this, I had to pick up the pace.

Another worry I had at the beginning was that someone would identify me, but no face, no case. Plus after a while, people learn to mind their business. Only my closest friends know what I do and as long as I have their support, no one else exists.

All the time people come up to say “You’re the one in the photos” but I always throw my face away. Once you throw away your face, they will not have the audacity to ask again.

Another thing that keeps me going is that there is potential to cash out. I have friends that are crazy successful from this and this is their main job. Anything can happen, as long as I keep grinding, I’ll keep seeing results. Even when it seems slow, or sad, I just have to keep going. Sometimes when I get frustrated, I remember my British friend who made $3000- $4000 in July and made almost $20,000 in August. Even though I recently started and things are slow, I know that there’s potential for me to start earning six to seven figures if I put in the work.

Thinking about these things is what makes me look for the best pose to take photos so I can send my entry for Titty Tuesday. There’s money to be made, please.

WEDNESDAY:

One thing doing this job has shown me is that I’m very open to fetishes. More open than even I thought. Sometimes, I’m the one that suggests things. I understand that it might not be the same for other people because you have to consider a lot of things. However, a lot of people have fetishes that I also share so it’s a win-win for me. Additionally, fetish content is very expensive especially videos of you acting out the fetish.

I charge per minute for fetish videos. It helps that I have a price list for specific fetishes, unlike other girls who size customers up and price them. So that makes my subscribers happy.

Today, I’m making a custom (we agreed on a fetish) video that’s supposed to be three minutes long. All I can say is that it involves recording myself doing a very specific fetish. The better I get at these videos, the more the possibility of making between $90 – $150 for 3-minute videos.

However, NEPA wants to ruin my vibe. We haven’t had light all day so I can’t record anything. My phone battery is low and coupled with the sound of my neighbour’s gen, I can’t do anything. I definitely don’t want generator noise in my background because I don’t like when things aren’t right.

I’m going to spend the day apologising to the client and I’ll even give a discount for the stress.

I need to distract myself from all these thoughts so I’m going to watch Fat Dog Mendoza to pass time before Nigeria frustrates my enemy.

THURSDAY:

My biggest challenge with this job is showing my body. I know that it sounds like a paradox but I struggle with body dysmorphia. This also manifests as social anxiety. I don’t like being outside because I feel that my body is ugly and hideous. Sometimes if I have to go somewhere, I start crying. I think that if I go out, people will see my ugliness. I know that it’s weird doing this work and feeling this way but it’s a daily struggle that I can’t help. I often get so sad and don’t want to work.

Even when I’m filming, there are some things I try not to do because I think my body is ugly in an outfit. When I get a scar or something, I get really insecure. One time, I got a scar on my belly from shaving and for a week, I didn’t post anything that showed my belly. I haven’t taken an ass pic in a month or two because I don’t like how my back rolls look. Also, I have cellulite on my ass and I don’t like how they look in photos. Another time, I went for two months without taking breast pics because I felt my breasts were too saggy and I didn’t want to see them. Sometimes, when I want to take titty pics, I hold them up with my hands to feel better with myself.

I haven’t taken pictures sitting down because I feel my hips won’t pop out. Struggling mentally and doing this work is really hard. I’m constantly scrutinizing my photos. I zoom in on my picture and say what if someone is looking at this scar or those rolls. The reality is that many times, I’m the only one noticing these things. There are times I start going “Oh my God, my content is trash. Oh my God, my content is trash.” Throughout last week, I didn’t open my OnlyFans feed because I didn’t like how I looked in any video. Like sometimes you’ll be sad and you just have to keep going. Thankfully, I’m not alone, some other girls doing this work also feel this way.

Sex work also saved me from drug dependency and alcoholism. Usually, I’d be drunk or high to get away from sadness. But when I’m drunk or high, I’m inefficient and can’t work. If I don’t work that means I can’t earn so I’ve been way more sober due to having to work[hehe].

Today, I feel sad and can’t do anything. I can’t do promos on Twitter or Telegram so I’m just going to lay in bed. The only difference now is that instead of escaping and not doing anything, I’ll brainstorm. If I’m going to be sad and not do anything, I might as well plan my content strategy for when my mental health break is over.

Who no work, no go chop.

FRIDAY:

Nigerians living in Nigeria are terrible towards online sex workers. Today, I think of how hurtful this is because I have no community. The abroad guys are accepting of us but there are still differences even when we are in group chats. Many of the girls in this group are white so there’s a disconnect. White girls have it one hundred times easier and being black makes you accept the fact that some people will automatically decide not to fuck with you. Our realities are just too different and they can’t relate. It’s easy to feel alone — how many Nigerians are doing this on an international scale? I only know of like two other people on Twitter. And to be honest, in this industry where everyone is busy chasing the bag, there’s no time for many many.

I remember one time my friend (who does OnlyFans) hinted about her potential earnings in an article. She just said you can make up to four figures in dollars and Nigerians started reporting her account. She got locked out of her account for two days. I just advised her to unfollow and block everyone she followed from Nigerian Twitter. And that she should start integrating herself into abroad Twitter. When I started doing this, I knew that I wasn’t working in Twitter NG space so I just blocked half of them because they were body-shaming me. Sometimes, I just see a random Nigerian account and I’ll just be like fuck off and block it. It’s just bad vibes and negative energy. You can’t actually survive in this climate with people that hate you for no reason when you’re not doing anything to them. They just hate you for no reason. Let me not lie, sometimes I tell people that I’m Ghanaian because Nigerians hate my existence.

Sometimes I get anxiety attacks. I have nightmares. Getting my identity revealed is my biggest fear. My real name out there on the internet. American girls will get their content leaked and move on but I don’t know what will happen to me.

But if I start thinking, I won’t do anything. If you find something you love, I think you should do it. As long as you’re not hurting anyone and your conscience is clear.

SATURDAY

I don’t work much on weekends. So, today I try to stretch out as much as I can. I also need a break. I’m going to do Telegram promo and that’s the worst of them. I legit need to hire an assistant to do that for me because it’s so hard.

It’s because of how difficult this work can get that I want a partner who’s loving and accepting of me. I see a lot of girls like me who have boyfriends and husbands that love them for who they are. I know I can’t settle for less when I see girls like me being valued. I know a girl that makes content with her boyfriend. One time, they did a thread on sex workers and their partners and how long they have been together – I saw people who had been together for 5 – 6 years and I saw love and acceptance.

Some of these girls, their boyfriends do their filming, planning and budgeting for them. I also know someone who’s married doing this work whose husband is an engineer. So imagine seeing all that genuine love, you definitely won’t settle for less or for anyone that will be talking to you anyhow. These decisions become easier because you now have your own money on top.

Thinking about this again, I’ve made up my mind that I don’t need anyone’s approval to follow my dreams.

Check back every Tuesday by 9 am for more “A Week In The Life ” goodness, and if you would like to be featured or you know anyone who fits the profile, fill this form.
1. Time To Go And Meet Your Favorite Lecturer
You, yes you. You have had peace of mind for the last 6 months. But in the next three weeks you will try to submit your assignment after the deadline and someone will shout “Will you get out of my office?!”

Why? Because the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has directed the re-opening of academic activities in the State, as from September 14. This resumption will be for tertiary institutions in the State, after which primary and Secondary schools in the state can resume from September 21 – subject to continuing review.

Sanwo-Olu made the statement at the Lagos State Marina House while addressing Lagosians on report from lockdown restrictions. He also said tourism and hospitality businesses will open shortly.

For more on our campus stories, read Aluta and Chill.

2. Conjoined Twins Separated, Again, In Yola
The Federal Medical Center Yola has successfully separated another set of conjoined twins, the third time since 2013 and 2018.

These conjoined twins were brought from Yenogoa, in Bayelsa State, and are children of Mr Raphael Ayebaiemi and Mrs Godsgift Ibiyyefa who are unemployed secondary school leavers.

The twins were airlifted by the Nigerian Air Force back back to Bayelsa State, after they had initially been taken to Yola free of charge by the same Nigerian Air Force.

The Mother of the twins has also stated that the successful operation saved her from being called a witch and an evil person.

3. Ghana Replies Nigeria: “This You?”
The Ghanaian Information Minister, Kojo Nkrumah, has replied his Nigerian counterpart, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stating that Ghana is committed to maintaining friendly relations with all of its sister countries, including Nigeria.

Recall that issues like the demolition of the Nigerian High Commission building in Ghana and the exhorbitant licence fees charged on Nigerian traders are among some of the issues causing the row between the two countries.

The minister said the land of the high commission was not demolished by the government but by the “Osu stool”, and that the Ghanaian President will speak to Buhari on friendly relations between the two countries.

Check back every weekday by 10am for more Zikoko Citizen stories.
Nigerians who live in Lagos often confuse living in Lagos as the entire Nigerian experience. But there are many, many great cities in Nigeria, and Jos is one of them.

We have been hearing so many great things about Jos, and we decided to curate some of them.

1. Peace of Mind
If you are tired of Lagos wahala, we hear that Jos is a good place to go and relas and be taken kiarof.

2. Cheap Food
The general consensus is that food is cheap in Jos.

3. High Level of Trust And Compassion

Jos is that place where you could go to the market, and be 20naira shy and tell the trader "ma, abeg my money no complete, e remain 20naira" and she'll say "no problem bring the money like that"
Compassion has a mansion here
— MaryJane Nkechi 🇳🇬 (@dmaryjane_real) August 28, 2020

This particular thread on Twitter does a job of highlighting the high level of trust and compassion in Jos.

4. Cold Weather
Jos can get as low as 7 degrees, especially in the months between November and January. But if you’re Canada material and you don’t mind cold, then Jos is a perfect fit.

5. Sweet and Fresh Tomatoes
Heard of the common phrase “Tomato Jos”? Yes, tomatoes can be found aplenty in Jos, including the presence of other fruits and vegetables like apples, strawberries, carrots and peas.

6. Great Landscape
Jos is a city with one of the richest landscapes in Nigeria with the presence of many tabletop mountains and rock formations.

7. The Best Hospitality

https://twitter.com/Revelationjoy/status/1299607367970160640

Everyone attests to the hospitable in Jos. You should stop by.
At some point, Nigeria will have to declare a national emergency on the crime of defilement.

For starters, I actually thought “defilement” was just another sensational term used on newspaper headlines, but it actually is a criminal offence. Section 137 of the Lagos Criminal Law (2015), for instance, prescribes an imprisonment for life for anyone convicted on the offence of “Defilement of a child”.

And yes, a lot of defilement has been going on in Nigeria.

Meet Prophet Idowu And Other Annointed Men of God
On Wednesday, the Lagos State Police Command arraigned a Nduka Anyanwu before the State Magistrate Court in Yaba for allegedly impregnating two sisters of, guess their age – 13 and 17 years. Anyanwu who is a Pastor was said to have slept with the girls on multiple times, impregnating them in the process. Worst thing is that the mother of the girl refused the arrest because he’s a Pastor and he promised to marry one of them.

Meanwhile, there is a Prophet Idowu of the “Victorious Sacred Solemn Healing and Deliverance Ministry” who was arrested in February 2016 for “putting two sisters in the family way” (kinda thing you say to clear your conscience when you want to put rat poison in someone’s tea). This man also wanted to sell the victim’s father’s property – but one crime per pastor a day. Ahan.

There is also Prophet Ebenezer Ajigbotoluwa, founder and General Overseer of the Church of Lord who was arrested for defiling and impregnating two sisters, this same August. This one allegedly told a family of six to move into the church premises to avoid being ‘afflicted’ by the same sickness, after which he started afflicting the family’s girls of ages 13 and 16.

And there’s Pastor Jeremiah Godman Iziduh of the House of David Full Gospel Church who held a widow and her five daughters captive in Edo State, impregnated two of the girls while claiming that they were sown as seeds to his church by their late father (and so he sowed his seeds to them?). He also collected the documents of every property left by the late father and husband, and claimed that they were all sown as seeds to his church.

Things Are Happening

Look, there’s many more of these things happening in Nigeria. And its really not just Pastors. Terrible men are really destroying the lives of Nigerian girls by sleeping with them, getting them pregnant, and destroying their chances of proper education and a good future. And if that’s not a menace then I don’t know what is.

Meanwhile, let me go and look for the sex story of another Prophet Bartholomew Endurance Izanga. I’m sure there’s one out there. There always is.
I’m already broke from all the girls I’m chasing, and so I’m really concerned if we will actually be paying more for electricity by September. But it turns out there’s no answer on Obasanjo’s internet for that. In fact, the more you look, the less you see – even if you’re wearing binoculars.

Backstory

So reports filtered in early Wednesday morning that the President had approved electricity tariff increase by September 1. Now, an electricity tariff increase was supposed to have gone ahead by April 1 this year, but it was moved to July because of the economic challenges caused by the Covid 19 pandemic and the opinion that Nigerians were cash-strapped (or broke) at the moment. The July tariff increase was later postponed to the first quarter of 2021 after the National Assembly met with the regulators and concluded that the “time was not right” because of, again, economic challenges caused by Covid 19.

Multi-Year Tariff Order

You may be wondering what soil these tariff increases grow from, and how they come about? Well, according to the Electric Power Sector Reform Act which was enacted in 2005 after NEPA was unbundled (bet you still say “UP NEPA”), the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is empowered by Section 76 of the Act to establish a methodology for determining electricity tariffs within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

The NERC subsequently came up with what they called the “Multi Year Tariff Order” which is basically a 15 year effective pricing plan for Nigeria’s electricity industry, subject to review every 5 years – accounting for inflation, interest rates, exchange rates and generation capacity.

The last tariff increase was in 2015 and the next one was supposed to be this year – 2020. However: “men plan and Covid plans, but Covid is the best of planners”.

“And the borrower shall be a servant of the lender”

Ordinarily, and going by the facts above, we shouldn’t be seeing any electricity tariff increase till the first quarter of 2020 – which means I can go on with my lau lau spending. But Nigeria wants a $3 billion loan from the World Bank, and electricity tariff increases are reportedly part of World Bank’s conditions for giving this money. That meins, we die there.

I mean, the release from the NERC yesterday night says it all. The government does not want to increase electricity tariffs, but it also wants to fulfill loan conditions, and so it has come out with an ambiguous statement on how there will be no tariffs for the “poor and vulnerable” and how Buhari has directed an end to estimated billing and has ordered mass metering. The communique by NERC also stated the tariff increases will be conducted by the DISCOS on per customer basis. But when, at what specific price and at which electricity customer class, we still do not know.

@nercng says No tariff raise for poor and vulnerable Nigerians; DisCos directed to embark on mass metering. @MobilePunch @NTANewsNow @channelstv @DailyPostNGR @vanguardngrnews @ProfOsinbajo @LeadershipNGA @THISDAYLIVE @BusinessDayNg @KapitalFM @asoradiotvabuja @yawazobiafm pic.twitter.com/Gfz5DpVxab
— NERC Nigeria (@NERCNG) August 26, 2020

All of this reminds me of the exact same issue we have with PMS where fuel subsidies have been removed but fuel prices are still being regulated. Instead of us to fix the underlying issues in a sector, we will rather paper the cracks. “Nigeria – my country, my country”.

Check back every weekday by 10am for more Zikoko Citizen stories.