The Federal Government of Nigeria has maintained its stand on the recent increase in electricity for certain consumers despite threats from the labour unions.
Yesterday, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Power, Florence Eke disclosed that the government is not backing down on the increment. According to her, the increment follows the need to reduce the government’s electricity subsidy payment. As such, the government would not be moved by the trade unions’ threats.
Notably, the statement comes amid a recent two-week ultimatum given by the Labour Unions for a policy reversal.
Reacting to the statement, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Nigeria Labour Congress condemned the tariff increment. Specifically, the NLC argued that cannot fix tariff for a deregulated sector. Consequently, they reiterated that the two-weeks ultimatum remains, unless the FG reverses it’s move.
Recall that in April the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) announced an increment in electricity fee for Band A customers. The about 240% increment would now see the customers pay N225/kWh instead of the previous N68/kWh.
Notably, the increment comes as the FG totally removed its subsidy for customers in the Band A consumption category. According to reports, these users account for around 15% of electricity consumers in the country.
Power Minister justifies Electricity Tariff
Justifying the hike, the Nigerian Government disclosed that the electricity subsidy removal would allow it to save about N1.5 trillion.
The Minister for Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu at a recent hearing also argued that the country may experience a nationwide blackout if the new tariff is not maintained. Adelabu noted that it’ll only take the country three months to experience blackout without the increment and subsidy removal.
“The entire sector will be grounded if we don’t increase the tariff. With what we have now in the next three months, the entire country will be in darkness if we don’t increase tariffs.”
