The poor electricity supply being experienced across the country may have worsened the situation for many Nigerians

By Mariam Ileyemi

The Nigerian government has once again issued a new advisory on how to cope with the prevailing heat wave in the country.

The latest advisory by the Federal Ministry of Environment follows an earlier warning by the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) which predicted prolonged heat waves across the country, with temperatures reaching 39°C in the South and 41°C in the North.

NiMet had warned that the high heat level can cause dehydration, heat-related illness, and respiratory issues, among other chronic conditions.

According to NiMet, the northern part of the country will expect to experience more heat than the southern region.

The Minister of State for Environment, Ishaq Salako, told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday that the advisory is relevant for the season because “according to the NiMET Seasonal Climate Prediction, the heat wave is expected to be prolonged and will be with us for a while despite the rainfall.”

Consequence of heat wave

According to the advisory, exposure to heat waves can pose serious health, social, environmental, and economic risks, adding that infants, children, pregnant women, and the elderly are especially vulnerable to heat stress.

Some of the common symptoms of heat stress are dry lips, excessive thirst, dizziness, nausea, heat rashes, mild fever, confusion, fainting, and high body temperature for longer than two hours.

It added that no urination in more than eight hours or dark urine, rapid heartbeat, and breathing are other symptoms to look out for.

NiMet also noted specifically that dehydration from the heat could cause fainting; Chickenpox disease, Measles, and heat rash.

Preventive measures

The environment ministry advised Nigerians to plan their outdoor activities to avoid unnecessary exposure to the heatwaves and keep an emergency kit at home that contains oral rehydration salt (ORS) packets, a thermometer, towels or clothes to wet for cooling, and a handheld fan with batteries.

The advisory reads in part: “When possible, close the curtains during the hottest parts of the day and open windows at night time to cool down the house.

“Do not go outside during the hottest times of the day if you can avoid it. When outside, wear sunscreen and try to stay in the shade or use hats and umbrellas for protection.

“Drink water at regular intervals before you are thirsty. Wear light and loose-fitting clothing. Reduce physical activity and avoid participating in outdoor sports in the central hours of the day.”

Poor electricity supply worsens the situation

The poor electricity supply being experienced across the country may have worsened the situation for many Nigerians.

Across social media platforms, Nigerians have lamented the epileptic power supply and on many occasions have called out the nation’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu.

Earlier in February, in Port Harcourt, women protested at the office of the power distribution company, saying their husbands no longer make love with them at night due to excessive heat and poor power supply.

Many also lamented the high cost of fuel which is the consequence of the removal of subsidy on petroleum products by President Bola Tinubu. The high cost of fuel has denied many the opportunity to provide electricity through generating sets.

DiamondJLove:
The economy is some how and it has made some of us go on 0-1-0 daily.now which affordable food can one eat ones a day and survive?

Pojomojo:

Thundafireseun:


You're playing with ulcer

Truvelisback:
Good day, fellas. With the way Naija is going, nobody knows what the outcome would be like. So, what kind of food can one eat twice in a day that would last till the next day? Or How do you schedule your feeding? 😏

Geovanni412:
Us GDP news incoming in 3 mins

peteregwu:


Ah 40pips only....anyways at all na him bad. Well done bro. 👍👍

peteregwu:


USDCAD is getting close to tp

judatech:
We dey wait...
Let this translate to decrease in food stuff price o!

onez:
When the damage is already done. They should release and apologize to Emefiele

jeromestarks:
This drink use to be ₦2500. But, at Abuja yesterday, I got it for ₦5k!
Omo, Nigeria is going places ooo.

nlfpmod

Fxwarrior:
Gold heading to 2044 region

Fastt:
Sell pressure has started on Binance spot. Who are those selling?(manipulating)

Geovanni412:


It is 1800 at the moment on binance

Binance has had similar aaccusations of currency manipulation and unethical conduct leading to sanctions in many countries and an ongoing lawsuit in the United States.

By Abdulrahman Abdulmalik

The Nigerian government is considering blocking the online platforms of Binance and other crypto firms to avert what it considers continuous manipulation of the forex market and illicit movement of funds, officials with knowledge of the policy option have told PREMIUM TIMES.

The recent unprecedented weakening of the Nigerian currency has seen the naira falling to all-time low of N1,800 to a dollar in the parallel market.

Presidency and regulatory sources say the government decided to move against Binance and other crypto firms following reports that currency speculators and money launderers were using them to execute criminal activities. Authorities believe the ‘criminal activities’ going on on platforms are contributing significantly to the weakening of the naira.

Binance, a digital assets platform, serves as a window for peer to peer transaction allowing users to advertise interest to sell or buy currencies of their choice.

In September 2023, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) placed a disclaimer on Binance Nigeria Limited, saying the platform was “neither registered nor regulated by the Commission and its operations in Nigeria are therefore illegal”.

Despite the warning by the regulatory agency, the firm continued its operation, attracting huge patronage especially among urban youths and suspected speculators and money launderers.

Aside suspicions of economic sabotage, officials also speak of national security concerns as the platforms are often patronised by other criminal groups including for payment of ransom.

Law enforcement sources say the digital asset platforms are also routinely deployed for manipulation of forex values through fake deals that serve to prop up values or cause a fall.

A source at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) involved in probing criminal complaint against digital asset platforms, who was however not authorised to speak to the press, described the process as a “sophisticated heist against the Nigerian economy”.


According to her, by allowing simultaneous opening of buy and sell windows for a single user, manipulators often fake interest to sell dollars which they then buy at a speculated rate to themselves through the buy window.

“This therefore gives the dollar a fake value against the naira which then sets a frenzy and mislead the market. This fake price is then often quoted by BDCs who raise their prices to meet the Binance benchmark even without any corresponding demand in that segment,” she said.

A senior executive at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) described as “troubling” the bearish downward trade of the naira against the dollar in the last 10 days, attributing it to artificial devaluation caused by the speculative sites.

“Through manipulative rent seeking, Binance’s global reach results in higher USD to NGN exchange rates often being used as a benchmark for currency trading, misleadingly devaluing the Naira in global markets.”


But he added that trading on the platform is encouraged by activities of money-launderers and terrorist financiers “who have no qualms with the arbitrage”.

“We started noticing this sharp trend from February 9, and since then it has caused significant devaluation of the naira against the USD. This is simply criminal,” he said.

Binance has had similar accusations of currency manipulation and unethical conduct leading to sanctions in many countries and an ongoing lawsuit in the United States.

If the government decides to invoke a ban on the digital asset trading site it would be treading the path of countries like Malaysia, France and Malta, among others.

The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) had announced Tuesday that it was joining forces with the Central Bank of Nigeria to clamp down on currency speculators and economic saboteurs.

The Head of Strategic Communication at ONSA, Zakari Mijinyawa, hinted in his Tuesday statement that individuals and organisations involved in wrongful activities in Nigeria’s Forex market would be identified, investigated and penalised.

Contacted on Thursday night on the planned clampdown on Binance and other crypto firms, Mr Mijinyawa said he was at an “important meeting”. He did not answer or return subsequent calls made to him.

Binance could not be reached Wednesday morning. Multiple calls to a customer service number listed for it rang out unanswered.

Nigeria is facing a historic foreign exchange (FX) crisis but this problem is not unique to Africa’s biggest economy as findings showed three other African countries have also suffered a similar fate.

Several economic and political factors, such as inflation, government instability, reduced foreign direct investment (FDI), and fluctuating capital flows, have been associated with the weakness of some other African currencies.

The naira has been on a steady decline since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) floated it in June 2023, collapsing all the segments in the FX market into the Investor’s and Exporters’ Window. It depreciated to as low as 1,534.39 per dollar last Monday at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market.

The FX market experienced a significant 56.58 percent decline in dollar supply on Wednesday, just two days after witnessing a surge in liquidity driven by the CBN’s interventions.

The impact of this depreciation is felt keenly by businesses and households across Nigeria.

Businesses reliant on imported goods face increased costs as the value of the naira decreases, potentially leading to higher prices for consumers.

Companies with foreign debt find their repayment obligations escalating, putting further strain on their finances.

Kenya

Eastern Africa’s second-largest economy is similarly battling with depreciating currency as a result of both external shocks since 2020 and internal factors.

Last year, Bloomberg reported that the Kenya shilling experienced its largest drop in the past 30 years in 2023. It also reached an all-time high of 163 per dollar in January of 2024.

The currency weakness was a result of the decline in foreign portfolio investors due to the strengthening of the US currency that pushed investors towards high yields on US Treasury bonds, making foreign exchange from export in Kenya decline.

Kenya relies on FX inflows from diaspora remittances, exports, tourism, foreign direct investment, and foreign loan disbursements to stabilise the currency.

This depreciation is making imports more expensive and increasing Kenya’s debt, which stood at more than 10,100 billion shillings (64.4 billion euros) at the end of June, according to Treasury figures, or around two-thirds of gross domestic product.

Although at the time of writing this story on Thursday, the shilling was up almost eight percent, according to LSEG data, which was fuelled by foreign inflows into Kenyan domestic debt of $2 billion Eurobond maturing in June.

Egypt

In December 2022, the International Monetary Fund approved a $3 billion loan for Egypt in exchange for several economic reforms including a move to a flexible exchange rate to stablise its currency.

The dollar exchange rate was more than 70 pounds in the black market over the past few days, compared to 31 pounds in the official market, with a 130 percent gap between the two rates. On Sunday, the exchange rate in the black market fell to less than 60 pounds, bridging the gap to 100 percent, but still maintaining confusion and chaos in Egypt’s currency market.

Factors that contributed to the currency devaluation included the scarcity of foreign currency; the government’s inability to provide dollar bills; traders’ tendency to speculate on prices of dollars, gold, and properties; some food suppliers’ tendencies to stockpile basic commodities to make more profits, and some people stockpiling on basic commodities for fear of a rise in prices or decrease in supply.

Egypt’s economy was hit hard after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 unsettled global investors and led them to pull billions out of the North African country.

The war sent wheat prices spiralling – heavily affecting Egypt, one of the world’s largest grain importers, and piling pressure on its foreign currency reserves.

Currently, there are limits to how much money can be withdrawn from banks and ATMs, whether in dollar bills or Egyptian pound.

As a result of the dollar volatility, prices of gold, iron, electrical appliances, and other commodities have experienced record rises.

Although Egypt’s inflation slowed to 29.8 percent in January 2024 from 33.7 percent in December, it remains well above the upper limit of the central bank’s target range of 5-9 percent.

sukkot:
It’s no secret that we have being under divine purgatory in Nigeria for a week now. Temperatures feeling hotter than an oven and no light or fuel to succor . Food prices galloping like a powerful horse and the Naira plunging lower than a sinkhole. It’s being the ultimate purgatory. It’s being hell. It’s the darkest hour before the Piscean light comes through and that dark hour is over as symbolized by the heavy rain happening as we speak. The rain will water the dry places and ressurect the dead parts and dry parts of your life. Welcome to your new life . The night is over

yoribo:
What happened to the light we used to supply to Niger. After cutting them off, what happened to that excess

Amid gas supply challenges and financial outlook, power supply across the country remained stranded over the weekend as measures by the Federal Government to improve national grid supply failed to have any impact.

Checks on national grid data posted by the Independent System Operator showed that as at 3pm yesterday only 16 of the nation’s power plants were generating to the grid at 3,530.33 Mega Watts with Nigeria’s largest power plant, Egbin Power completely off the grid.

The biggest generators were Azura-Edo IPP (420MW), Kainji Hydro (415MW) and Shiroro Hydro (275.73MW).

Gas suppliers have so far refused government entreaties to increase supply to power plants citing a debt of over $1.3 billion for past supplies.

The government had at the beginning of the year agreed to pay electricity subsidies of N1.6 trillion in 2024 to the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, NESI, but a budget provision of just N450 billion.

The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu last week confirmed that no payment has been made for the month of January, compounding the liquidity challenge facing the industry.

The Minister noted “The persistent liquidity issues coming from inappropriate tariff regime, poor collections and inadequate funding of government subsidies leading to huge debts owed to the transmission, generation and gas supply companies.

“This has restricted investments required for sustaining supply flow, capacity expansion and infrastructural improvements. It has also not only discouraged lending to the sector by financial institutions as the sectoral activities are not bankable, but has also made the sector unattractive to new investors”.

He added that some of the solutions being considered by the government include “settlement of existing sectoral outstanding debt obligations to the gas supply and power generation companies using partly cash payment and guaranteed debt instruments. N1.3 trillion is current debts to the GenCos and $1.3 billion legacy debts to the GenCos.

Following the drop in supply, electricity distribution companies, DisCos moved to pacify consumers, assuring them of improved services soon.

Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, in a statement said: “We would like to inform you that we are aware of the unstable power supply experienced in recent times essentially caused by insufficient power allocation to us.

“This has constrained us to implement load curtailment directives across our franchise to manage the situation for grid stability. This will involve occasional temporary interruption of power supply to certain areas for a limited period. We understand the inconvenience this may cause and sincerely apologize for this disruption. We are working diligently to minimize the impact of these outages”.

Also, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC, informed its customers that “the drop in electricity supply currently being experienced is due to generation shortfall as a result of gas shortage to the generating companies.

“We are working with stakeholders in the electricity value chain on a sustainable resolution. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and appeal for your understanding”, it added.

Meanwhile, the European Union has said that it will invest 37 million Euros into the power sector. It said the amount is beside 200 million grants invested in the sector since 2008.

The EU Ambassador to Nigeria, Samuela Isopi who disclosed this when he visited the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, said the amount would fund small hydro power, solar for health care facilities, rural electrification with isolated and interconnected mini-grids project, and circular economy in power sector project.

In his response, Chief Adelabu identified the liquidity issue as the main problem in the sector that the government is trying its best to resolve, adding that the market will only be sustainable and run efficiently when there is a cost reflective tariff in place.

While thanking the EU for its support for the sector, he noted that the EU projects align with the Ministry’s strategy for the sector. He promised to work with the EU on their programmes especially on Small hydro and state electrification within the new act.

Fxwarrior:
If gold plays according to plan, next month being March may see 1910 region.

TradingGod:
smc is not the only strategy in forex chief

labake1:
100,000 Naira Gifting For 10 Guys that doesn't belong to redpill or misogynist gangs

You must meet the following conditions;

Have never commented on that redpill group.
Has not insulted any lady while trying to make his points.
Must support Feminist movement.


To select the winners, they will be a background check.

peteregwu:


No bro. But to be frank with you I have been hearing about smc but I have never bothered to check on it. I don't even know how it works.

peteregwu:
On NZDCAD, I look forward to a drop to 0.80642 that's about 200+pips.