Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Ali Ndume, has urged the Federal Government to reconsider its position on hike in electricity tariff, saying Nigerians are yet to recover from the removal of fuel subsidy.
Ndume, who gave the advice in a statement in Abuja on Saturday, described the timing on electricity increase as unfavorable.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) recently approved a tariff increment for Band A consumers, allowing electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos)to raise electricity prices from N68 to N225 per kilowatt-hour with effect from April 1, 2024.
The lawmaker said Nigerians were facing many challenges, including unprecedented inflation, poor purchasing power, insecurity, and other hardships.
Ndume urged the Federal Government to focus on providing stable electricity, inflation reduction, stabilise the naira, reduction in food prices, and provision of other basic amenities to Nigerians before increase in tariff.
He expressed concern that the decision to increase electricity tariff was taken without due consultation with the National Assembly, the representatives of the people.
Ndume said constituents of lawmakers were also reaching out to them to intervene and reverse the astronomical increase.
Ndume said: “The news of the increment came to me and many of my colleagues as a shock. It also came at a time when the National Assembly was on a break. Personally, I think the timing of this hike is very wrong, Nigerians are grappling with many challenges.
“To put this fresh responsibility on them is very unfair. Nigerians are yet to recover from the fuel subsidy removal of last year. Many Nigerians are still grappling with the ripple effects that the removal had on them.
“I believe that the timing is wrong, there ought to have been some consultations, especially with the National Assembly as representatives of the people, we were not consulted, we saw the news like every other Nigerian.
“The inflation is still very high, the prices of food commodities, drugs, transportation, school fees, and other daily expenditures are still on the high side, to now add this new burden is unfair.
“The minimum wage has not been increased, many state governments are yet to even pay the current minimum wage of N30,000. How do we expect the people to survive? We’ve to be very realistic and feel the pulse of the people we represent as a government.
“For me, I think the Federal Government should first of all provide stable electricity, reduce the inflation, stabilise the naira, and prices of food commodities.
“Then, the purchasing power of Nigerians must significantly improve before we can place a fresh responsibility on them as a government.
“The Federal Government needs to give the National Assembly the opportunity to also step in and consult because we represent the people. We feel their pulse, and we know what they’re going through right now.”(NAN)
