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No Going Back On Electricity Tariff Hike – FG

The Federal Government has restated its position that there is no going back on the increase in electricity tariff in the country. The Minister of … Continue reading No Going Back On Electricity Tariff Hike – FG


Babatunde Fashola on Housing
Fashola
Fashola
Nigeria’s Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN)

The Federal Government has restated its position that there is no going back on the increase in electricity tariff in the country.

The Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) at a public hearing at the Senate explained that the National Assembly has already empowered the National Electrical Regulatory Commission (NERC) to fix tariff in the country.

Officials from the labour unions in the electricity sector, who also attended the hearing, voiced their displeasure at the increase and noted that they were not consulted before the decision to increase tariff was made.

The Minister, however, insisted that the increase in electricity tariff is unavoidable if the country must enjoy steady power supply.

On its part, the Senate insisted that the Federal Government needs to urgently address some critical problems in the power sector.

On February 16 this year, the Senate at plenary asked the Minister, NERC as well as electricity distribution companies to immediately suspend the new electricity tariff that have seen charges raised by over 40 per cent.

The Senate also directed its Committee to hold a public hearing to get the views of stakeholders on the electricity tariff hike and how to move the sector forward.

Channels Television’s Linda Akhigbe reports although government is insisting that it is not insensitive to the plight of Nigerians, the hike in electricity tariff without a reciprocal increase in electricity supply in many areas in the country is a bitter pill for many Nigerians to swallow.