Thursday briefing: Dirty Trump. Electricity hikes. Covid milestones.
What you need to know.
Good morning.
We are focusing on the violence instigated by Trump at the US Capitol, why you are most likely paying more for electricity in 2021 and the latest updates on Nigeria’s Covid situation.
Donald Trump goes down fighting dirty
Come January 20, he will no more be President of the United States. Donald Trump knows that. But before his exit, he will make sure to inflict all the damage he can, spread the hurt that has welled up inside of him.
Part of Trump’s devilish agenda was witnessed on Wednesday as hordes of armed civilians stormed the US Capitol while a joint session of Congress was being held to confirm Joe Biden’s win. The pro-Trump mob smashed windows and clashed with police, leaving at least four persons dead.
The violence halted the lawmakers’ debate but they later reconvened to certify Biden’s victory at the polls.
Although Trump later asked his violent supporters to go home, he continued to repeat his rhetoric, about how the election was a fraud, despite having no evidence.
Many top Republicans who have stood by Trump denounced the violence and backed the election results. "Count me out, enough is enough," South Carolina senator, Lindsey Graham said. "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are lawfully elected and will become the president and vice-president of the United States on January the 20th."
Meanwhile, social media giants Twitter and Facebook have imposed restrictions on Trump’s accounts over his inciting comments.
Dig Deeper: This video shows the key moments that led to the invasion of the US Capitol. Yes, Trump asked his supporters to march towards the historic dome.
Related: In another crushing defeat for Trump, Democrats gained control of two Georgia Senate seats, a victory set to reshape the balance of power in Washington.
Nigeria’s electricity tariff hikes
Electricity tariff hike for Nigeria be like bicycle. E no dey quick hard to start.
On Tuesday, the media reported that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission had increased the cost of accessing electricity, citing inflation and movement in foreign exchange valuation. Some reported the increase was over 50%.
In a stunning denial, the NERC then released a statement saying there was no increase in electricity tariffs, only adjustments. I was baffled, even after speaking to a NERC Commissioner who insisted that there really was no increase.
Meanwhile, in the NERC statement, the regulator said “the rates for service bands A, B, C, D and E have been adjusted by NGN2.00 to NGN4.00 per kWhr to reflect the partial impact of inflation & movement in forex.” That’s a 100% increase, no?
I’m still scratching my head to understand why NERC denied tariffs had been increased. One explanation is that the commission wanted to spin the increase as something beyond its control since it does not directly determine the rate of inflation in the economy and how foreign exchange flows turn out.
Also, according to NERC, the new hike will not affect customers being served less than an average of 12 hours of supply per day.
Festus Keyamo: The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, who is part of a committee going around the country to determine how much Nigerians can pay for electricity, on Tuesday insisted that there was no increase in tariffs.
Labour: Expectedly, the unions are livid about the hike. The Nigeria Labour Congress said the federal government will face “an unprecedented industrial resistance by Nigerian workers” if the hike is not immediately rescinded. The federal government has asked for a meeting with the labour leaders.
Context: Nigeria is torn between fully deregulating the power sector and managing the expectations of citizens pummeled by a bad economy. Higher tariffs, in the long run, might be good for the power sector as generation and distribution companies have more money to reinvest and modernise their businesses, but how many Nigerians can afford to pay?
A new day, another record
Since Monday, Nigeria’s daily Covid cases have been a record. On Wednesday, the country reported another daily record - 1664 new cases.
As it stands, the government’s social distancing measures seems to have failed and shutting down the economy amid a recession isn’t even a remote possibility. So, all eyes are on the vaccines.
According to the Executive Director of the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Faisal Shuaib, 100,000 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will come in at the end of this month.
Nigeria is also set to secure free deliver of 42 million doses of different vaccines. Not nearly enough for a population of over 200 million people, but it’s a start.
And the first persons who will get the vaccine shots will include members of the Presidential Task Force on Covid. “This is meant to demonstrate to Nigerians the safety of the vaccine,” Shuaib said.
So, are you ready to be vaccinated?
What else is happening?
NCC: The telecoms regulator has denied that it plans a “mass disconnection of telephone subscribers” after demanding that the National Identification Number be linked to all SIM cards.
Kukah: A Muslim body has accused the Christian cleric of a “calculated attempt to insult” Islam and Muslims in a message he delivered on Christmas day.
Golden Eaglets: The nation’s youngsters were beaten by Cote d’Ivoire in their first game at the WAFU B tournament in Lome, Togo. The competition serves as a qualifier for the Africa U-17 Nations Cup.
Insecurity: Niger State Governor Abubakar Bello on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of entering into any form of negotiation with bandits terrorising the state. He made the comment after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.
Finance Act: The new law empowers the federal government to collect unclaimed dividends and bank account balances left dormant for at least six years.
Ethiopia: Over 100,000 people have been displaced due to violence in the Benishangul-Gumuz regional state since July 2020, according to the United Nations.
Read: One of my core things to focus on this year is climate change. And these ten signs illustrates why we all should be worried.
And that’s it for today. Apologies for going MIA yesterday. Had trouble with my internet connection. It’s all sorted out now though. And tomorrow we have big news. See you then.