The National Deputy President of the TUC, Tommy Etim, told Punch newspaper that the NEC meeting is the standard procedure, indicating that more definitive actions could be expected following this gathering.
The outcome of the NEC meeting will likely shape the course of action to address the discontent over the electricity tariff adjustments.
The NERC’s decision, publicized at a press briefing on April 3, 2024, has escalated electricity costs for Band A customers to N225 per kilowatt-hour, a sharp rise from the former rate of ₦68/kWh.
This 240 per cent increase follows the government’s removal of electricity subsidies for Band A customers, who represent about 15 per cent of the nation’s 12.82 million power consumers. The government argues that this adjustment will save ₦1.5 trillion.
Despite the government’s assurance that Band A customers will enjoy up to 20 hours of power supply daily, the tariff hike has met with widespread criticism from various quarters, including the House of Representatives, organised labour, and the Nigerian Bar Association.
The House has even called for an immediate suspension of the new tariff implementation.
The matter intensified during a Senate Committee on Power hearing, where the Minister of Power, in justifying the hike, warned of a potential nationwide blackout in three months unless the tariff increment was enforced.
However, the Senate Committee, chaired by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, stood against the new tariff regime.
Amidst these tensions, at the International Workers’ Day celebration in Abuja on May 1, leaders of the NLC and TUC, Ajaero and Festus Osifo, respectively, condemned the tariff increase.
They criticized the poor electricity supply and described the billing as “an extortion and daylight robbery against Nigerians.”
Source: Naijanews
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