The Trump administration has approved the start of the process for the formal transition of power to president-elect Joe Biden. The administrator of General Services Administration (GSA), Emily Murphy, sent a letter to Biden on Monday afternoon, informing him that the administration is ready to begin the formal transition.

In the letter obtained by CNN, Murphy said the delay in the formal transition process has been as a result of legal actions following the result of the election.

“As the administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration, I have the ability under the under the presidential Transition Act 1963, as amended, to make certain post-election resources and services available to assist in the event of a presidential transition.

“I take this role seriously and because of recent developments involving legal challenges and certifications of election results, am transmitting this letter today to make those resources available to you,” she said.

The letter has put an end to the Trump administration’s denial of the election result, giving Biden access to the fund he needs to prepare for his journey to the White House.

This development means the GSA will make $6,300,000 available to Biden to execute the transition, and additional $1,000,000 to provide appointee orientation sessions and a transition directory.

Following Trump’s inability to acknowledge Biden as the winner two weeks after the presidential election, which thus resulted in GSA’s withholding of the transition fund, Biden began raising funds alternatively. Last week, Biden’s transition team sent a grassroots fundraising plea to its supporters asking for donations to reach more than the targeted $10 million for transition.

The GSA’s letter also means the Biden team will now have access to federal agencies and vital information that the Trump administration has been withholding. Biden had decried the delay, saying it would hinder the fight against coronavirus that is currently ravaging the United States.

Yohannes Abraham, executive director of Biden’s transition said the start of the transition was a needed step in tackling many of the problems facing America, especially COVID-19.

“This final decision is a definitive administrative action to formally begin the transition process with federal agencies,” she said. “In the days ahead, transition officials will begin meeting with federal officials to discuss the pandemic response, have a full accounting of our national security interests and gain complete understanding of the Trump administration’s efforts to hollow out government agencies.”

Murphy had been under intense pressure from Biden and democrats to sign off on Biden/Harris victory, but had allowed the matter to drag on for weeks, suggesting allegiance to Trump based on his conspiracy theories.

But in her letter, she said her decision to delay the ascertainment of Biden’ victory has been independent.

“Please know that I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts. I was never directly or indirectly pressured by any Executive Branch official – including those who work at the White House or GSA – with regard to the substance or timing of my decision. To be clear, I did not receive any direction to delay my determination,” she said.

Trump is yet to make a clear concession, though he thanked Murphy in a tweet for her work, after the letter became public, which affirms he approves the decision of the GSA. However, he said the fight to reclaim his stolen election will continue, and implied that he approves of the GSA’s ascertainment because he doesn’t want Murphy to continue to be harassed.

“I want to thank Emily Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our Country. She has been harassed, threatened, and abused – and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA,” he said. “Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail.”

While restating his determination to pursue legal proceedings against what he has described as “rigged election”, Trump said the GSA must do what has to be done in the interest of the country.

“Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country, I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do same,” he tweeted.

Trump’s determination to continue the push to overturn the result of the presidential election has been described by his advisers as “a veiled attempt to justify continued fundraising solicitations.” Trump campaign has raised millions of dollars for lawsuits, but has lost more than 95% of all the lawsuits it filed pertaining to the election result.

He holds a PhD in Energy Law from the prestigious University of Ibadan. He earned LLM from the amazing University of Lagos. But it all began in the land of lions and lionesses, the enviable University of Nigeria Nsukka, where he graduated in Law.

Today, he is a partner in one of the nation’s top law firms, Hermon Legal Practitioners, where he leads the firm’s tax law and energy tax business, among others. Dr. Jerome Okoro PhD, a Tekedia Institute Faculty, will teach Tax Law during the next edition of Tekedia Mini-MBA.

Taxation is a big area in our Institute. We already have a manager in the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) developing a course on Global Tax Treaties. Essentially, I want our members to get comfortable with tax and use the available tax laws to advance their missions. 

To join the next edition of Tekedia Mini-MBA, click here.

The Jollof Rice Index shows that food prices have risen in Nigeria. With the main ingredient, rice, becoming a luxury product, I do think this is the time to consider if we can do something at the supply side. Basic economics tells us that price will rise if supply is frozen even as demand rises. Covid-19 was an xfactor for most subsistence Nigerian farmers, and because growing rice is not like a factory process where you can add shifts to meet new demand, the recalibration cannot be instantaneous. 

Yes, for rice, you have to wait for months for the farming gestation cycle to happen. If that is the case, can Nigeria open a 2-month window to equilibrate price by increasing supply, via imports, temporarily, and once the farmers have normalized production, close the imports?

There is no reason for us to allow the suffering even though we want to do import substitution. I do think our policy must be nuanced with flexibility to accommodate moving variables. Our main challenge today is that supply is out of phase with demand, due to many perturbations from the coronavirus pandemic, and I do think that Nigeria needs to account for that in our policy playbooks.

This is the reason I am calling the  government and the central bank to open the ports, and support importers with forex (strictly for food) to import food since, technically, we did not plant enough to generate the necessary supply to handle the huge demand in the nation. Without that import, prices of food items will continue to rise since demand has well outstripped by supply.

Without addressing the supply via short-window food imports, prices will continue to go high as farmers cannot magically produce and grow the crops overnight. A 60-day import window, starting immediately, will go a long way to normalize food prices before the peak of the Christmas season.

I vote for the Central Bank of Nigeria to make it easier for rice to be brought into the nation now, and later, as we move towards harvest season, freeze the policy. This will ensure families do not suffer more on this staple food in Naija. Yes, the impact could be more than a tax waiver for minimum wage earners.

“We are proposing in the new Finance Act that those who earn minimum wage should be exempted from paying income tax.” — President @MBuhari

— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) November 23, 2020

Nigeria Needs To Reconsider Its Food Import Restrictions on Forex