The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a directive to banks to collect electricity bill payments.

In a circular dated August 21, Bello Hassan, CBN’s director of banking supervision, said taking over from electricity distribution companies will improve transparency in the power sector.

“The payment or settlement of all NESI related goods or services shall be made through the Nigerian banking system,” the circular stated.

“Consequently, all collections for the payments of NESI regulated goods and services provided by a DisCo shall be paid into a designated account such that collections arising from services rendered by the DisCo shall be paid into an account in the sole name of the DisCo; collections arising from services rendered by a third party/parties on behalf of the DisCo shall be paid into an account in the joint name of the DisCo and the third-party vendor(s)

“All energy and non-energy collections of DisCos, whether cash or cashless, shall only be performed by deposit money banks (DMBs). No entity shall be permitted to collect revenues for DisCos except if that entity is so authorized by a DMB in line with the relevant CBN guidelines for agent banking and agent banking relationships.

“Therefore, the DMB shall be permitted to authorize its agents to collect energy and non-energy payments on its behalf for any DisCo; the actions or inactions of the agent shall be the responsibility of the authorizing DMB. Any DMB found to be maintaining any account(s) for any entity collecting payments on behalf of any DisCo without appropriate authorization shall have regulatory actions imposed on it.”

The apex bank also directed that banks providing bank guarantees to Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on behalf of DisCos, would take full responsibility for the collections and the remittances of the DisCos to both NBET and TCN.

“For the avoidance of doubt, no DMB is permitted to open or continue to maintain a collection account for a DisCo without the express no-objection of the DMB that guaranteed its exposure to NBET or TCN,” it said.

The Cable reported that in the latest quarterly report of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the collection efficiency by the DisCos is low and has continued to adversely impact the financial liquidity of the industry.

Revenue generation is one of the major challenges of the power sector. DisCos keep lamenting over revenue shortfalls attributed to low electricity tariff. But this new directive from the CBN is suggesting that electricity revenue has been going into the wrong accounts.

However, Nigerians are concerned that the directive is coming from the Apex bank instead of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Given that the DisCos are privately owned companies, many are questioning the right the central bank has to direct them on how to receive electricity bill payment.

TikTok has made true its decision to sue the US government over the executive order mandating the sale of the video app to an American company.

The app took the US government to court on Monday, accusing the Trump administration of not following due process in its attempt to divest the company.

Legal action appears to be the last resort for the embattled company as it fights to stay in business in the United States.

“We do not take suing the government lightly; however we feel we have no choice but to take action to protect our rights, and the rights of our community and employees. Our more than 1,500 employees across the US pour their hearts into building this platform every day,” the company said in its suit, adding that it has plans to expand its workforce across eight states with more than 10,000 workers.

The New York Times reported that the suit was filed in the Federal District Court for the Central District of California. TikTok is arguing that Trump’s Executive Order is unconstitutional because it failed to give the company an opportunity to respond.

Procedures for actions like this involve federal notification. If the federal government launches an investigation, it will inform the company with a subpoena or some other means, demanding its response to the allegations. However, TikTok’s legal team said no such notification was served by the US government, and it breaches the standing procedure.

But TikTok’s ordeal stems from Trump’s administration’s concern that the Chinese government will harvest the data of its American users. TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, which the US government believes to be under the control of the Chinese Communist Party, and wouldn’t refuse any data request made by the Chinese government.

The situation has turned into a political dogfight between the United States and China. As national security concerns escalate the existing trade conflict between the superpowers, the recent US clampdown on Chinese tech companies fuels the tussle. The Trump administration is trying to prove how tough it can be on China, while Beijing is determined to be more assertive.

But the consequential impact is reckoning on Chinese tech companies only. Huawei was the first victim of the contagious fight that has got many other nations involved, and subsequently TikTok and WeChat. The United Kingdom, Canada, India among others have followed the US to part ways with Huawei’s 5G technology infrastructure, and the move is forcing other countries to reconsider their relationship with the Chinese telecom giant.

While the restrictions on the Chinese tech companies will have a significant impact on US companies and jobs, it paves the way for the United States to curtail the seeming dominance of China in technology.

TikTok has millions of users in the US and so does WeChat, a ban will mean that they will lose one of their biggest revenue bases.

As more US companies become interested in acquisition of TikTok, the company is seeking an alternative through suit. If the court rules in its favor, it means it will not have further need to be acquired by US companies. But that seems unlikely as the matter involves national security.

Last year, Huawei sued the US government over a spending law that prohibited federal agencies and contractors from using its equipment. The suit claimed that the company’s constitutional rights have been violated. But the court ruled in favor of the US government.

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act empowers the US president to regulate economic transactions in a national emergency. It was based on that provision of the law that Trump issued the executive order to ban TikTok.

Jason M. Waite, a partner at the law firm Alston & Bird, said that courts would probably be reluctant to challenge the president on national security grounds.

“I do think the US should be concerned about having to defend IEPPA actions and the impact that could have on the authority of a future president,” he said.

If the court rules in favor of TikTok, it means that the powers of the presidency to invoke IEPPA have been undermined.

Therefore, TikTok’s lawsuit can only serve one purpose – buy more time for the company to entertain more bidders. Microsoft is in a race to seal the acquisition deal before Trump’s deadline, but Twitter and Oracle have joined the bidding too.

A few days ago, I needed some insider information about business registration by CAC and so, I sought the advice of some consultants. I actually contacted those recommended by some people, who claimed that the consultants were the ones they used during their own company registration. But to my amazement, those consultants weren’t giving me the main information I needed. All they were after was how much it will cost to open different categories of businesses and the documents that have to be provided. But any other advice, such as how to determine which category a start up should go for, were hard to come by. When I realised that these people were not the right place to turn to, I searched lower the line. I cut off the consultants and went to business owners. That was where I received the most important information every person that wished to run a business in Nigeria should consider before going to CAC.

Well, permit me to say that three small business owners that didn’t tag “consultants” to their names, provided me with all the information I asked for and more. They gave me a deep insight into the choices they made and how they enjoyed or regretted them. They revealed some hidden treasures in start-ups that can save a lot of people some pains and losses if they find them beforehand. I was amazed at what people that are considered “unqualified” could provide me with. This makes me wonder who should be called a “consultant”.

The writer of a newsletter I read recently advised that people – entrepreneurs, workers, freelancers, etc – should find coaches. She said that no matter how good a person is in his career or business, he needs someone that will be his ears and eyes. She argued that coaches help people to make adjustments that will help them to grow. These coaches, according to her, know the in and out of the careers or businesses they coach their clients on because they are always updated and have access to information. So, contracting one means that you can never make a mistake.

In Nigeria, we have career and business coaches, but we call them “consultants”. But then, how helpful are most of the consultants we have in this country? How have they been able to make changes?

If you ask me, I’ll say that the reason why the works of consultants are not really felt in Nigeria is because people go for the unsuitable ones. For instance, many people felt that the higher a person’s certificate is, the better a consultant he becomes. Because of this, they look for consultants that have big academic titles attached to their names without verifying if they can deliver. How I wish people will understand that consultancy needs more than a formal education to be effective. In fact, not all consultancy services need a degree.

Another mistake people make while searching for consultants is that they expect that only those that charge highly are good in the business. Maybe those expensive ones can consult for multinational companies, but they may not be the right choices for young start-ups, who desire to start small and then grow big.

This then comes for us to ask ourselves what we should look out for before hiring a consultant or a coach. Well, I can give the following tips based on my little experiences with some “consultants”.

• On-the-Job Experience

If you need a consultant to lead you through setting up or managing a business, I suggest you go for the one that has experiences in that business. This time, I’m not talking about gathering experiences as a consultant, but experiences from running that type of business. For instance, if you want to set up a school, you should find a consultant that has managed a successful school within your area. It will be odd for you to stay in Abuja and contract a consultant in Enugu. Of course, he will come with ideas that will work for schools in Enugu and not for the ones in Abuja. If the consultant has never worked in a school before, not to talk of managing one, know it that the business is already in trouble.

• Feedbacks

Feedbacks always reveal how good or bad a thing or a person is. It will be quite advisable to consider consultants that were recommended by someone you know and trust so well. If you’re happy with the work the person did for others, it is possible he will do a good work for you. Most consultants disappoint a lot, hence recommendations are necessary. Of course I know you might say that the consultants recommended for me, in the case I mentioned above, didn’t give me what I wanted. Truth is, I guess the problem isn’t that they don’t know their jobs but that they are not experienced in the areas I needed information on. Another thing is that they must have been used to people trusting them to do everything without asking questions. So my inquiries threw them off balance.

• Niche

Like I suggested earlier, some consultancy firms were created to consult for big companies. Their adverts may make them seem as the right choice for SMEs start ups until you approach them and find out that there is nothing small or medium about them. Apart from charging high, they may not really help you to start in the first place. For instance, the consultants I approached called figures that I didn’t know people could release for testing the waters and documents that exist only in my future. If I had listened only to them, I would have been discouraged. This is just to say that when you want to start small, look for consultants that truly help SMEs; that’s their niche. This also applies for those that want to start theirs in a big way. Look for consultants that are cut out for your type and size of business.

It will be good if Nigerian consultants understand that their jobs are very crucial in the country. They should concentrate on delivering values and not on calling exotic amounts for clients and prospects. They have to identify what clients need and work towards providing those needs for them at all times. They should keep themselves abreast of new findings and problems so that they can easily proffer solutions to existing problems. If consultants in this country do their jobs well, a lot of businesses will not fail before they start.