The Tekedia Institute Igba-Boi: The Igbo Apprenticeship System program is designed to run for 8 weeks, and is structured to prepare learners on the mechanics of the Igbo business worldview philosophy of entrepreneurial stakeholder capitalism where everyone rises, and not just a few. The program includes pre-recorded videos, written materials, and business cases.

As the world looks for how to manage the disruption in global economies as a result of technology which has increased economic inequality, Igba-Boi offers a new path for nations towards a global “onye aghara nwanne ya” [do not leave your brethren behind] under a belief system of stakeholder primacy.

“The Igbos in Africa have been practicing for centuries what is today known as stakeholder capitalism”, we wrote in Harvard Business Review. In Tekedia Institute, we recognize that as the Umunneoma Economics (economics which works for all), and it looks more promising than the Adam Smith Economics.

This program will provide the tools, processes and elements necessary to not just understand Igba-Boi, but practice it in markets, in modernized ways. We invite governments, schools, associations, associations, organizations, etc, to register stakeholders. Individuals can also register anytime.

Learn more here.

“This tariff review is in conformity with our policy thrust of maintaining a subsidized pricing regime in the short run, with a transition plan to achieve a full cost-reflective tariff over a period of, let us say three years.” – Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu.

It looks scary but what the Honourable Minister is trying to do is actually what should be done. I understand the emotions and his non-elegant way of explaining things (an example: asking people to switch off freezers to save energy cost), but the path he is taking is the right one.  Many do not pay electricity bills in Nigeria even as they complain of no electricity. So, besides reflective tariff, we must ensure we also improve collections.

Our challenge as a nation is how to make the rich pay their fair share. In America (feel free to attack me for bringing comparison), those in the cities pay more for phone bills than those in the rural areas. Their model is that if you do not subsidize the low density rural areas with the revenue from the high density city areas, no person can afford rural telephony.

If you apply that in Nigeria, Eti Osa LGA cannot be on the same rate as Epe on electricity rates, just like Oriendu Market Ovim traders cannot pay the same rate as Ariaria Aba traders. It is our lack of the use of data that makes our governance system inefficient.

I just want to caution the Honourable Minister, you cannot phase out electricity tariff; it would be a bad policy. What you can do is to phase out all for commercial customers, modulate for some residential customers especially in rural areas, but sustain subsidy for industrial customers to make them globally competitive as energy is a huge component of production.

For industrial customers, if a $100m subsidy helps to improve output by $15 billion, when you tax that output and activity associated with it, you can recover that $100m. But if a high tariff makes their products so expensive that the only option is Chinese products, Nigeria loses. Always remember that whenever Nigerian Customs beats annual revenue targets  on import duties, we are de-industrializing Nigeria; reverse that for us.

In a move that could potentially impact millions of Nigerians, the Nigerian government has hinted at extending the recent increase in electricity tariffs to customers beyond the Band A classification.

The announcement came just two days after the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved the tariff hike for Band A customers.

During a briefing held in Abuja on Friday, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, outlined the government’s plan to gradually phase out electricity subsidies in the country. He described the recent tariff increase as a pilot phase in this transition process, aimed at attracting more investment into the power sector.

"This tariff review is in conformity with our policy thrust of maintaining a subsidized pricing regime in the short run, with a transition plan to achieve a full cost-reflective tariff over a period of, let us say three years." – Nigeria's Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu.

It… pic.twitter.com/p0tN6tQuHy

— Ndubuisi Ekekwe (@ndekekwe) April 6, 2024

Nigeria Hints at Further Electricity Tariff Increase, Emphasizes Phasing Out Subsidy

In a move that could potentially impact millions of Nigerians, the Nigerian government has hinted at extending the recent increase in electricity tariffs to customers beyond the Band A classification.

The announcement came just two days after the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved the tariff hike for Band A customers.

During a briefing held in Abuja on Friday, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, outlined the government’s plan to gradually phase out electricity subsidies in the country. He described the recent tariff increase as a pilot phase in this transition process, aimed at attracting more investment into the power sector.

Adelabu explained, “This tariff review is in conformity with our policy thrust of maintaining a subsidized pricing regime in the short run, with a transition plan to achieve a full cost-reflective tariff over a period of, let us say three years.”

He noted the government’s commitment to mitigating the impact on consumers while gradually moving towards cost-reflective tariffs.

Acknowledging the challenges faced by consumers, Adelabu highlighted the need for this transition, citing the significant financial burden of electricity subsidies on the government.

“We are not ready to aggravate the sufferings any longer, which is why we said it must be a journey rather than a destination,” he stated.

The Minister emphasized the need for a gradual migration from the subsidy regime to a full cost-reflective regime, with certain customers being the first to experience tariff adjustments.

“This is more like a pilot for us at the Ministry of Power and our agencies. It is like a proof of concept that those that have the infrastructure sufficient enough to deliver stable power of enjoying 20 hours of light to be the ones to get tariff add,” he explained.

Adelabu also provided insight into the current subsidy system, revealing that the government previously subsidized 67 percent of the cost of electricity. He highlighted the immense financial strain this placed on the government, stating, “The government would have paid N2.9 trillion for 2024. This is more than 10 percent of the national budget.”

While acknowledging the potential impact on consumers, Adelabu emphasized the need to address other pressing issues facing the country.

“It will be insensitive on our part to compel the government to pay such subsidy when we have other competing issues the government needs to fund,” he asserted.

The Minister’s remarks come amid growing backlash over the recent increase in tariff for Band A electric consumers, with many sounding the warning that it’s capable of crippling economic activities in the country.

While the backlash is largely tied to the concern that the N1225/KWH approved by NERC for Band A customers does not commensurate with the earning power of Nigerians – with the minimum wage currently at N30,000 per month, many believe that there is no moral justification increasing tariffs for other bands currently receiving around 12-hour supply of electricity daily.

Many of the consumers in Band A are already lamenting that they don’t get up to 15 hours of the required 20 hours of daily electricity supply. This means that, even though the customers are paying as much as N170,000 per month on electricity bills, they’d still have to rely on alternate means of electricity supply which don’t come cheap.

Adelabu attributed the backdrop to poor consumption management of Nigerians saying, “We don’t have consumption management in this country. Some people leave their AC and freezers on for days because we are not paying enough for the power.”

However, experts have maintained that the electricity crisis is as a result of insufficient power generation. Nigeria currently generates around 4,000MW of electricity, which is significantly insufficient for its over 12 million consumers.

The government has been urged to address the long-standing challenges within the power sector, ensuring a sustainable and affordable electricity supply for all Nigerians.