It’s giving Anini
Your electricity bill might climb up soon
Happy Friday, Big Brains! Another productive week done and dusted. Do something nice for yourself this weekend, okay? Enjoy your salary; you’ve tried.
- Margaret
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Reading time ~ 5 mins
Let’s get into today’s edition:
Your electricity bill might climb up soon
Tinubu says food prices are dropping
Your electricity bill might climb up soon
Don’t quote us, but Lawrence Anini, Nigeria’s most dangerous robber, lowkey walked so Nigerian politicians could fly. The next item on the list of things that are about to go wrong is the cost of electricity for many Nigerians, including Band B and C customers, and it’s all thanks to one of your faves.
The bandit culprit you need to drag if this eventually happens is the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who announced that the government is considering a tariff review because not enough people are migrating to Band A yet. We wonder why because it definitely has nothing to do with the fact that migrating to Band A comes with a 230% tariff hike in Tinubu’s economy (derogatory).
Judging by the minister’s careful choice of words, this tariff review will likely eventually affect Band D and E customers. He claims the government is going this route because it is considering ways to sustain Nigeria’s power sector and attract investors by slowly removing electricity subsidies. Again, this sounds like a genius idea because it’s not like our national grid has arthritis and leaves us in darkness every three market days or anything.
Adelabu, who’s clearly been attending a “How to avoid dragging on social media” masterclass, was also quick to add that he doesn’t want to be misquoted and stressed because the tariff is just in the review stage with no actual prices mentioned yet.
Why is this a big deal?
The government swore that categorizing Nigerians into electricity bands would improve supply. Band A customers, who pay the most, were supposed to get 20–24 hours of power, while lower bands would at least get something stable. Spoiler alert– this hasn’t exactly been the case. Many Band-A folks recently complained about how the frequent collapse of the national grid has reduced their electricity supply, and lower bands are stuck with the same unpredictable supply. Instead of fixing that mess, the government is considering “reviewing” tariffs again.
And if history has taught us anything, it’s that when the government says “we’re reviewing,” it usually means “get ready to pay more.” Not to trigger any PTSD, but remember how we watched Nigeria unlock a new level of shege after the petrol subsidy removal? One minute, they were assuring Nigerians it was for the best; the next, transport fares tripled, businesses struggled, and food prices skyrocketed. If they remove electricity subsidies now, we’re looking at another wave of suffering because everything runs on power.
To make things worse, Nigerians are still recovering from the recent telecoms tariff hike and the extra ATM charges CBN wants to impose on us in March. At this point, we need to start asking the necessary questions, like what’s next? A breathing tax?
Tinubu says food prices are dropping
If a Yoruba man tells you that India scored 99 goals against Nigeria in the 90s, then India scored 99 goals. And if President Tinubu says Nigeria is on the road to economic recovery, then he said what he said.
On Thursday, February 27, the president claimed that food prices are starting to drop. Speaking at the APC National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting on Thursday—the first in two years—Tinubu assured party members that he’s working hard for Nigerians. In response, the APC NEC gave him a “vote of confidence” for his outstanding performance (their words, not ours). He also directed party leadership to set up committees to settle internal beefs.
The president was particularly thrilled about this “drop” in food prices because it’s happening just in time for Ramadan. He also said that while the world is “unravelling,” Nigeria is standing strong. The Senate and House of Reps leadership threw their weight behind the president’s claims and promised to fast-track laws that would support his economic recovery plan even more.
But here’s what’s more interesting—some APC OGs were missing from the meeting. Former President Buhari, ex-VP Osinbajo, and El-Rufai were nowhere to be found. Was this a coincidence? Or is there trouble on the coast of the enemy ruling party? Only time (and more political drama) will tell. Best believe we’ll be watching.
P.S — If your local market woman is still charging ₦6,000 for a crate of eggs, use T-PAIN MAPAMI NOW 2025 as your coupon code and get a presidential discount. You’re welcome!
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→How to Survive Without Light in Nigeria: Now that electricity is likely going to become more expensive, we thought we might show you a few other options to consider.
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