FG Insists On Electricity Tariff Hike As Labour Threatens Showdown
The Federal Government on Sunday faulted the organised labour’s opposition to the electricity tariff hike and the removal of the subsidy in the sector.
The spokesperson for the Ministry of Power, Florence Eke, said the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu’s justification of the electricity tariff hike at the Senate public hearing on Monday last week was still valid.
She said the government was “not toeing the path of trade unions’’ on the issue of electricity tariff.
According to her, the burden of the electricity subsidy was too much for the government to bear and it was not sustainable.
Eke stated this against the background of the two-week ultimatum issued by organised labour demanding the reversal of the increase in the electricity tariff.
But the Trade Union Congress on Sunday insisted on the two-week ultimatum it gave to the Federal Government to reverse the tariff.
Also, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, faulted the tariff hike.
According to him, the government cannot fix tariffs in a sector that is already deregulated.
The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission announced the hike in the electricity tariff for Band A customers at a press briefing in Abuja, on April 3, revealing that those affected would pay N225 per kilowatt-hour, up from the previous rate of N68/kWh, representing about 240 per cent increase.
Subsidy on electricity was withdrawn completely from the tariff of customers in the Band A category, who constituted about 15 per cent of the total 12.82 million power consumers across the country.
Based on the tariff hike, the Federal Government said it would save N1.5tn.
The government stated that the decision took effect on April 3, 2024, adding that Band A customers would enjoy up to 20 hours of power supply daily.
However, the House of Representatives, organised labour and the Nigerian Bar Association kicked against the hike in tariff payable by about 1.9 million consumers.
“You have to follow due process, organise public hearings and engage in dialogue with stakeholders. You cannot just come and say Nigerians should now start to pay one particular rate, it is not done anywhere.”
An official of the NLC, who spoke under condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the issue, noted that the organized labour was collaborating with the civil society groups to monitor the situation and compel the Discos to revert to the old rates.
The labour official described as illegal and insensitive the unilateral increase in the power tariff by the NERC, arguing that it constituted a big burden to small-scale enterprises.
The source said, “Our position has not changed. NERC did not follow the statutes in hiking electricity tariffs. The law stipulates that it must consult with the stakeholders before taking such a decision which it never did.
“That hike is, therefore, considered not only illegal but also insensitive to the plight of Nigerians who are already burdened by the crisis of survival.
“Moreover, the simple question is how would small-scale businesses survive such an unmindful hike and even the big businesses are also complaining? In essence, it is going to have a huge inflationary spiral on the economy.
Speaking further, he warned the Discos against trivialising the ultimatum issued by the unions, adding that they would start picketing the utility firms from next week.
He added, “The NLC and the TUC have already issued an ultimatum to the Federal Government on this and in the coming weeks will picket the NERC and DISCOs nationwide if that decision is not rescinded.
“We are fortunately not alone on this. Members of the civil society organisations including the National Assembly have also asked the Federal Government to halt the tariff hike.”
Meanwhile, Ajaero while speaking on Labour Lens, a programme aired on TVC, on Saturday night, reinforced the widely held notion that the government failed to follow due process.
“The (Electricity) Act is clear: Do public hearing with relevant stakeholders. There was no widely held consultation with stakeholders in the sector. The involvement of the ministry of power is suspect; for you to go into price fixing in a deregulated economy or deregulated sector. Such sectors are driven by market forces and then for you to now say we are going to change this, there is a problem.
“After privatisation, the state is meant to hands off. Now the minister is saying if Nigerians won’t pay a particular price then they won’t have access to electricity. That is a threat.”
Speaking on the ultimatum, Ajaero said, “This electricity tariff, it remains one week, reverse it. Follow the law, follow the rules. The administrative rules set up for you to have tariff increase, follow it, consult.”
