Electricity Tariff Hike Protests: FGN Unfolds Next Move After Protests, Picketing

In line with their threats to shutdown the entire offices of Discos in the country over recent electricity tariff hike, Nigerian workers on Monday, 13th May, 2024, disrupted activities in the power sector, demanding the reversal of the increased tariff regime.

Open Television Naija reports that the organized labour picketed offices of all eleven Electricity Distribution Companies and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC on Monday 

In Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, the protest was led by NLC president, Joe Ajaero who led protesters to the Ministry of Power and the NERC headquarters.

Offices of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company were also shut down as workers were prevented from resumption.

Simultaneously, offices of the eleven discos in Kwara, Lagos, Kaduna, Plateau, Enugu, Sokoto and other parts of the country were picketed.

Ajaero, during the picketing, said NERC should review its methodology for tariff increases in the electricity sector.

He noted the tariff hike is the fundamental cause of the country’s soaring headlines and food inflation, which stood at 33.20 per cent and 40.01 per cent in March.

In response to the organized labour’s one-day protest, the Nigerian Government has said that it is ready to negotiate with organized labour.

Open Television gathered that after the workers crippled operations at the Ministry of Power on Monday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Power, Mrs. Florence Eke, the Federal Government, through revealed to press men that the Permanent Secretary, Mr Mamman Mahmuda, had convened a consultative meeting for the next week with the organized labour and stakeholders to address the matter.

“The Ministry has asserted that its responsibility is to make policy while agencies, in this case, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, and other agencies implement it.

“The Ministry will invite all stakeholders for a proper consultation by next week,” she said.

However, the Nigeria Labour Congress spokesperson, Benson Upah, told news men that the government was supposed to consult widely with stakeholders before implementing the April 3 electricity tariff hike.

He warned that the picketing was just a teaser of what was to come if the Nigerian Government did not reverse the tariff hike.

In his words:“They were supposed to do a consultation before the tariff hike. What happened today is a teaser to what will come if the Government does nothing,” he said.

Open Television recalls that in April 2024, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission announced a 240 per cent electricity tariff increase for Band A customers getting 20-24 hours of power supply.

The hike led to customers in band A paying N225 kwh from N68 Kwh.

Justifying the hike, the Nigerian Government at different fora said it would save the country N1.5 trillion, and that only 15 per cent of the 12.8 million electricity customers would be affected.

Following the hike rejection by Nigerians, a recent minor reduction of N18.2 was announced.

However, workers’ picketing of Discos and NERC showed that the organized labour is unsatisfied with the Government’s minor tariff reduction.

Open Television reports that many stakeholders in the electricity sector seem to have a consensus view that the power sector needs a massive infusion of capital to build new power plants and refurbish the ageing old network.

They however believe that the Federal government should explore a Public Private Partnership initiative to fund the power sector, incorporate the various states into blocks of regions to undertake a total transformation of the Power Sector, thereby evolving a tariff regime that is reasonably affordable where electricity truly get value for money.