Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South has asked for the cancellation of the power rate increase and asserted that Nigerians are suffering from a variety of issues, such as high levels of inflation, low buying power, insecurity, and other hardships.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Saturday, Ndume denounced the action and urged the Federal Government to reevaluate its stance in the best interests of Nigerians. She said that the timing of the hike is inappropriate because Nigerians have not yet recovered from the removal of fuel subsidies.
Power distribution companies can now raise the price of electricity for city dwellers from N68 to N225 per kilowatt-hour as of April 1, 2024, thanks to a recent approval by the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), of a 300 percent tariff increment for Band A consumers.
“Me and many of my colleagues were taken aback by the news of the rise. It also coincided with a break of the National Assembly. In my opinion, this hike’s timing is just incorrect. Nigerians are facing several difficulties.
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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.”
