Electricity Tariff Increase Insensitive - NLC Lashes Out at FG

Posted by Thandiubani on Wed 06th Jan, 2021 - tori.ng

The Nigeria Labour Congress has lambasted the Federal Government for increasing electricity tariff.

NLC and TUC

President Muhammadu Buhari and his government have been dubbed insensitive for increasing electricity tariff by 50%.

The Nigeria Labour Congress said this on Wednesday while reacting to the increase.

Recall that FG gave Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission approval as the increase which varies, based on different consumer classes, took effect from January 1, 2021.

The regulatory agency blamed N2 to N4 adjustment in tariff on inflation and movement in foreign exchange rates.

Reacting, Deputy President, NLC, Joe Ajaero, said NERC disregarded the committee working on the new electricity tariff regime by the announcement on Tuesday.

Ajaero, who is also a member of the committee headed by the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, said the committee was yet to submit its report before the NERC action.

The Labour leader spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme monitored by The PUNCH.

He said, “There was a tariff increase by November which is being contested. A committee was set up headed by Keyamo and some of us are serving in that committee. We have not even finished addressing that issue and that adjustment was unjust and wasn’t necessary. Now, somebody is issuing a statement that there was an adjustment and it was not an increase. No matter how they play with semantics, Nigerians are noticing a lot of differences in what they are doing.

“90 per cent of Nigerians receive less than 12-hour electricity per day. All those issues of banding, band A, B, C, D, are all lies. Nigerians know more than this.

“There is an agreement with the labour on all these issues, the committee has not even submitted their report and NERC behaves as if it is from the moon and insensitive to Nigerians. This is not acceptable.”