The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group Afenifere has condemned the recent hike in electricity tariff, and has asked President Bola Tinubu to compel the Ministry of Power to reverse the increase.
Afenifere’s comment followed the Nigerian Electricity Distribution Company’s (NERC) electricity tariff hike for Band A users – consumers who enjoy at least 20 hours of power supply.
In a m statement, on Saturday, the group said the increment amounts to paying for inefficiency and further compounding the country’s economic woes.
“In conclusion, Afenifere called on President Bola Tinubu to compel the Ministry of Power, to reverse the present hike, go into alternative energy sources like solar and wind, review the terms with which the 2013 exercise was carried out, and be more innovative,” the statement by the group’s spokesman Jare Ajayi read.
The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural and political organization, Afenifere, has decried the over 200 per cent electricity tariff increase, saying that it will thwart the current administration’s effort at boosting the economy as businesses will shrink.
Afenifere, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi, recalled that as recent as Thursday, April 4, 2024, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu underscores the role that private sector plays in an economy. He did so while hosting some members of the business sector in Aso Rock Villa. According to the president, “There is no driver of the economy that is bigger than the private sector. If the private sector is not flourishing, there is no growth, no prosperity, no employment or development”.
Afenifere spokesman then wondered how businesses can flourish as desired by the President when the amount to be paid per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity jumped from N68 to N225 just within 24 hours of its announcement.
It would be recalled that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Wednesday, April 4, 2024, announced that from the following day, Thursday, electricity consumers on Band A would begin to pay N225 per kilowatt hour as against N68 they have been paying up till then.
Mr. Musliu Oseni, the Commission’s Vice Chairman who made the announcement, said that only those who enjoy 20 hours of electricity supply or more (out of 24 hours that make a day) were affected by this increase. They were categorized to be on Band A.
Oseni said that the additional revenue will attract investments into the energy sector just as he promised that his commission will deploy several tools to ensure that customers in Band A would get the said 20 hours electricity supply from distribution companies (DisCos).
Electricity Hike:Afenifere Asks Tinubu To Reverse policy
