As more regional, professional and trade organisations spoke out against Wednesday’s hike in electricity tariffs by over 230 per cent, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)’s Vice Chairman, Dr. Musiliu Oseni, is defending the decision, stressing that it will bolster electricity supply nationwide.
Oseni insisted that the move will help reduce incidence of national grid collapses as well as encourage increased investment in the power sector.
But Nigerians and organisations said the government had not taken into consideration the hardship afflicting the majority of Nigerians, just as it demanded a reversal of the policy.
The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) expressed deep concern and disappointment, saying that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government has embarked on “reckless move,” regretting that it “displays a complete disregard for the well-being and welfare of the Nigerian people.”
Also, pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afenifere, has rejected the current hike in electricity tariff, urging the government and the regulatory body to focus on supply of electricity to its consumers before considering such a hike.
Similarly, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has bemoaned the hike in electricity tariff in the country, describing the new policy as a “misplacement of priority, anti-people policy and unacceptable.”
On its part, the Association of Table Water Producers of Nigeria (ATWAP), Ogun Chapter, decried the 300 per cent increase on electricity tariff approved by Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
Meanwhile, NERC Vice Chairman, Oseni, said during an interview on Arise Television, that the Commission was implementing measures to prevent any exploitative practices by distribution companies towards customers. He stressed that a situation room will be established to collect and address customer complaints from those impacted by the tariff adjustment.
Speaking on the poor electricity supply in recent times due to the national grid collapse, Oseni said it had to do with the reduction in gas supply to some power plants and lack of maintenance of facilities by the generation companies.
He stated: “One factor that was responsible for this last one had to do with the reduction in gas to one of the power plants and also you have the issues of a lack of maintenance by the generation companies. The question is what contributed to that were both dip in the supply of gas as well as generation companies’ inadequate maintenance, which boils down to money.
“Any investor will not invest when there is no path to recovery. For instance, the generation invoice for January stood at N240 billion. So, based on the current Distribution Companies (Discos) charges before yesterday, they can only be mandated to pay about 10 per cent of that.
“That means the market will only do about 10 per cent of the invoice and how do you operate such a market and you expect quality service? So, those are part of the issues that we need to address.
“The factors responsible for grid collapse, if there is no liquidity, has serious implication on the quality of supply. Generation Companies (Gencos) not being able to pay for gas supply, not being able to maintain their machines as expected or as required is a recipe for poor quality of supply and grid collapse.
“So, it is part of the issues, that we believe if the market is liquid enough, definitely will be addressed.”
Oseni acknowledged potential short-term inflationary effects of the decision, but expressed confidence that tariff adjustments would lead to long-term improvements in service quality and market stability.”
However, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) said it was suing the government of President Bola Tinubu over the “arbitrary” increase in electricity tariff.
SERAP, in a post via its official X account, asked the Tinubu government to reverse the “unlawful” tariff increase.
The rights group urged the president to reverse the increase pending the hearing of the suit it instituted against the increase.
SERAP stated: “We’re suing the Tinubu administration over the arbitrary increase in electricity tariff from N66 to N225, despite the difficult economic realities in the country, and the pending lawsuit on the matter. The Tinubu administration must reverse the apparently unlawful increase in electricity tariff from N66 to N225 pending the hearing and determination of the suit we filed on the matter, to protect the integrity of the judicial process and the rule of law.”
