…Says new tariff capable of destroying Nigeria’s economy
Organised Labour, under the umbrella of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) yesterday stormed offices of electricity distribution companies (DisCos) and the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) nationwide to protest against the recent hike in electricity tariff.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, who led the protest at NERC ’s headquarters in Abuja, said Nigerians are currently wallowing in power poverty, given the abysmal low supply of electricity.
Recall that the NLC, TUC and their affiliates, vowed to ground offices of the NERC nationwide yesterday on the recent hike in electricity tariff and removal of subsidy from the power sector by the Federal Government.
The NERC had 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.
Ajaero also faulted the move by the NERC to hike tariff without engagements with stakeholders in the power sector. He further said that the Commission could not continue to charge tariffs without availability and accessibility to what they were paying for, adding that the Commission was creating inflation, for which it would continue to charge Nigerians.
The NLC President also issued a challenge to the NERC, to tell Nigerians which power plant it planned to construct before the end of the year, noting that the Mambilla plant could generate over 3,600 MW of electricity if it was functional.
Ajaero, therefore, called on the Federal Government, not only to reverse the planned hike, but to abolish all forms of tax that could further impoverish Nigerians.
In Lagos, the workers were sighted at the corporate headquarters of the Ikeja DisCo, singing and calling for the reversal of the Band-A tariff. In Oyo, protesters stormed the office of the Ibadan DisCo,, picketing the same. In Kaduna, the leadership of the NLC and TUC picketed the headquarters of the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, (Kaduna Electric), along the ever busy Bank Road by Ahmadu Bello Way in Kaduna metropolis.
?However, the Federal Government insists that a reversal of the tariff would spell doom for the power sector, urging Nigerians to bear the temporary pains. Amid this, the International Monetary Fund, (IMF), has advised the Federal Government to remove electricity subsidies in other bands to save the economy.
