Ali Ndume, a senator from Borno South and the Chief Whip of the Senate, has opposed the most recent increase in the price of energy.
He insisted that Nigerians had not yet fully recovered from the elimination of gasoline subsidies and called the timing inappropriate.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, acting on behalf of the Federal Government, has approved a 300 percent tariff increase for Band A customers. This means that power distribution companies can now raise the price of electricity for city dwellers from N68 to N225 per kilowatt-hour starting on April 1, 2024.
Ndume criticized the action and urged the Federal Government to reevaluate its stance in the best interests of Nigerians in a statement provided to reporters.
He said Nigerians are facing many challenges, including unprecedented inflation, poor purchasing power, insecurity, and other hardships.
The former Leader of the Senate said the Federal Government should focus on providing stable electricity first to Nigerians, reducing inflation, stabilising the naira, reducing food prices, and providing other basic amenities to Nigerians before increasing the tariff.
The lawmaker also wondered why such an important decision was taken without duly consulting with the National Assembly as representatives of the people.
Ndume said lawmakers’ constituents are also reaching out to them to intervene and reverse the astronomical increase.
Already, critical stakeholders in the country like Labour Unions, ethnic and religious leaders, have also rejected the hike and have warned of the dire consequences that may result from it.
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.
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“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 removal had on them. To now come up with this is wrong.
“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.”
