Economists: No party’ll sustain burden


Investors react

By Adeola Yusuf


Nigerians should be ready for hike in power and petrol prices immediately after the 2019 general elections, economists and investors in the power and petroleum sectors have warned.

In a chat with New Telegraph in Lagos, they insisted that the expedient hike in prices of electric power and Premium Motor Spirit (PMS); two utility products in Nigeria, will wait till immediately after the general elections.

Speaking with this newspaper last night, CEO of Financial Derivatives, Mr. Bismarck Rewane, a frontline economist, said nothing would happen on both power tariff and petrol price until after the election.

“Nothing will happen until the government gets another four-year mandate. If they do now, they will lose and that will not be a wise decision,” he said.

Similarly, Managing Director, Cowry Asset Management, Mr. Johnson Chukwu and investors in the 11 distribution companies, said that no party or individual that emerges winner in the election will sustain the energy tariff and oil subsidy burden.

The All Progressives Party (APC)-led Federal Government, New Telegraph gathered last weekend, foreclosed the processes it started to make the current prices of these two products competitive basically because of the effects it could have on voting pattern during the forthcoming general elections.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) incurs about N774 million daily under-recoveries to subsidise the N145 per litre pump price of petrol across the country.

Chukwu told this newspaper that the “government is absorbing the shock presently, which is inevitable, but at the long run, any government that comes in after the election will definitely review the prices.”

Specifically, he said: “Immediately after the election, whoever wins will not sustain the energy tariff and oil subsidy.

“Even if the government increase tariff today, the power generation will not change overnight, it will only enable operators to raise funds to strengthen their networks.”

Besides, he noted that the reality of the matter was that no government will inflict hardship on the masses prior to an election.

“So they are actually not willing to say that they want to increase tariffs or drop subsidy on oil before the general elections.

“They will be going for votes in the next six months to seek for mandate and there is no reason for any government to want to increase any tariff few months to the national election. It doesn’t happen anywhere in the world.

For me, it is a known fact that government will not increase the tariff. The government is currently absorbing the loss in terms of price difference between boarding price of petroleum product and the pump price,” he said.

Blaming the current woes in the power sector on the government’s inability to effect a cost-reflective tariff for power, investors in the 11 DISCOS in the country, said through their Director, Research and Advocacy, Association of Electricity Distributors (ANED), Sunday Oduntan, that the government can’t raise power tariff.

“They (the government) can’t do that until after the elections. They just cannot do that because it will be politically unwise. You know, there are problems,” he said, but refused to be specific.

He described the government’s inaction to raise the power tariff as “illegal.”

Besides, he insisted that actions and inactions of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, on the tariff and relationship with shareholders should be checked if the country is ready to be out of the power crisis.

The minister’s relationship with stakeholders, he said, is headmaster/pupils rapport, as such, “gives no room for sincere collaboration.”

“Under the watch of Mr. Fashola as the minister, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has conducted no minor review of the Multi-Year Tariff in violation of the law. This has worsened the under recovery in the entire value chain far above N1.1 trillion,” he said.

Stating that the DISCOs are battling with dire economic situation foisted on them by the lack of cost-reflective tariff, Oduntan maintained that only one of the DISCOs had foreign direct investment as at the time the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN’s) assets were sold to them. Others procured the assets with facilities from the Nigerian banks.

Meanwhile, International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry have commissioned studies on feasibility of violence during the 2019 general elections with focus on protection of over 1.2 million barrels of equity crude they produce daily in the country.

This move, investigations by this newspaper showed, has led most of the oil producers into talks with foreign and local safety and security consultants as the polls draw nearer.

Describing this move as a normal routine by “multi-national business concerns”, a management staff of one of the IOCs who confirmed this development to this newspaper, maintained that the consultants are being charged to beam searchlight on areas such as the oil-rich Niger Delta where over 2 million barrels of oil are being produced jointly by the IOCs, NNPC and the indigenous oil companies.

https://newtelegraphonline.com/2018/07/no-power-petrol-price-hikes-till-after-elections/

" He described the government’s inaction to raise the power tariff as “illegal.”
i don't even understand...d same current tariff at #37.3/kw yet notin to show wit improved power supply yet dey ar talking about increasing Wat actually..
wat is dis man talking about?

The govt in various states cant pay salaries but want to increase fuel and electricity..

By December, the enemies of this country will start hiking everything just to spite Buhari , but they will fail

For those of you quoting to insult me , thank you very much

This man is saying power will likely cost more , same as petrol, or anything else

However government doesn't want to increase price at the moment , hence the need for subsidizing

Sooner or later the marketers will claim the pump price is no longer feasible and hike the price, we saw it happen last year / during the celebrations , Christman / New year

I hope you are happy you made a fool of yourselves

"The All Progressives Party (APC)-led Federal Government, New Telegraph gathered last weekend, foreclosed the processes it started to make the current prices of these two products competitive basically because of the effects it could have on voting pattern during the forthcoming general elections.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) incurs about N774 million daily under-recoveries to subsidise the N145 per litre pump price of petrol across the country."

-So After lying about the daily consumption figures?
-After fidgeting in passing the PIB to down-regulate the downstream sector?
-After deceiving Nigerians that subsidy is a fraud but turning around by the back door to pay same but petrol still remains unavailable but @ exorbitant price despite a fall in global price?
-After when the FAAC/FG are yet to agree with the NGF on the true daily amount of petroleum products consume by Nigerians hence remittance by the NNPC to government coffers?
Nigerians brace up for another round of hardship.

[s]

RevenGeMission:
By December, the enemies of this country will start hiking everything just to spite Buhari , but they will fail

[/s] No need to do that because Buhari have been a monumental failure from birth.

not surprised, not everybody has brain

Racoon:
[s][/s] No need to do that because Buhari have been a monumental failure from birth.

Some of Us already know it... D govt is jus staying put till afta elections becos any hike in price of petrol in particular will automatically cost dem d election...

RevenGeMission:
By December, the enemies of this country will start hiking everything just to spite Buhari , but they will fail

I don't know how some of U reason. Abeg who hikes d prices of petrol and power without d approval of d govt?
D govt has been paying subsidies in d name of under recovery.. Sensible ppl know d govt WILL hike d price of fuel by nxt year wen dey finally claim to remove subsidy for a 2nd tym.. So are U agreeing dat Buhari-led govt is d enemy of dis country?

RevenGeMission:
not surprised, not everybody has brain

You that have a brain, if you are making use of it, then you would agree Buhari has been a failure

the issue is not about which government (win or lose) would increase tariffs.

the issues are the barefaced lies & propaganda from the stables of the APC & their effrontery to implement what they themselves condemned in the past as wicked & inhuman.

Yet, no increase in minimum wage but they can increase price of things. The thunder that will fire them is still warming up

Meaning after election we should expect power and fuel hike, a sane person cannot vote for Buhari, only cold hearted wicked soul would want us to suffer for another 4 years

RevenGeMission:
By December, the enemies of this country will start hiking everything just to spite Buhari , but they will fail

This is how stupid a bmc can be

Just a few years ago, Buharry denied understanding what fuel subsidy meant and even attributed it to a corrupt practice.


Three years down his failed administration, he is paying 1.4 trillion naira yearly in subsidy claims despite the fact that Nigerians now buy fuel at 145 naira as against 87 naira before he became president .


Never again will Nigerians be deceived by a cattle rearer without a waec certificate

Back to Duara

Hmmmmmmm

This is getting serious.

Lmao! So we should sure be expecting it then.

Each individual should create value. Waiting for government to meet all your needs does not make sense.

izzou:


So we should start getting ready for an increase in power tarrifs

Power wey we no see?

hahaha..

RevenGeMission:
By December, the enemies of this country will start hiking everything just to spite Buhari , but they will fail

are u sure read d story very well?

Racoon:

-So After lying about the daily consumption figures?
-After fidgeting in passing the PIB to down-regulate the downstream sector?
-After deceiving Nigerians that subsidy is a fraud but turning around by the back door to pay same but petrol still remains unavailable but @ exorbitant price despite a fall in global price?
-After when the FAAC/FG are yet to agree with the NGF on the true daily amount of petroleum products consume by Nigerians hence remittance by the NNPC to government coffers?
Nigerians brace up for another round of hardship.

Buhari lied about his age and secondary school certificate. He has no integrity and will lie about everything.

[s]

RevenGeMission:
By December, the enemies of this country will start hiking everything just to spite Buhari , but they will fail

[/s]Who did this to you?

Ok

power that is already scarce,
onLy if the increase in price can equate increase in availability of light then no problem

RevenGeMission:
By December, the enemies of this country will start hiking everything just to spite Buhari , but they will fail

You see your life

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfoLix7qh68hK2clkPY0NiYiO7O8QH2NQVn1QMUSYOsloWF0Q/viewform

help me fill the form above my people.. takes less than 1 minute. No name, no phone number, no email, just your opinion

izzou:


So we should start getting ready for an increase in power tarrifs

Power wey we no see?

Maybe you are not living in Nigeria since 2015.
Fashola and Buhari plus their APC crew have been giving us 24/7 electricity as they promised.

dre11:





Economists: No party’ll sustain burden


Investors react




https://newtelegraphonline.com/2018/07/no-power-petrol-price-hikes-till-after-elections/

Only 20% of Nigerians have pre-paid metres. Why are they frustrating this whole issue of installing these metres. If we all have the meters,it would ease the burden and injustice of paying for power not consumed.

Hmmmm