The Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC), on Sunday, expressed concern at the incessant and exorbitant review of electricity tariff by the Federal Government, warning that the present tariffs cannot stand.
In a statement issued and signed by the NLC President, Abdulwahed Omar, the congress said: “the previous year, the charge which was N225 has been arbitrarily increased to over N700. This review, whether done suddenly or in advance, is without justification or rationale and stands condemned as it will negate whatever gains expected to be recorded by the much vaunted reform in the power sector.”
Omar said that the congress believed that the multi-year tariff structure as designed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission(NERC) and tacitly approved by government only protected the interest of investors in the power sector and had little or no consideration for consumers, most of whom were poor and incapable of paying.
The statement read in part: “It is exploitative and saddening that these mindless reviews are not accompanied by commensurate improved services. If anything, electricity service delivery has plummeted over the years with consumers compelled to pay exorbitant tariff rates for incompetence, poor service and fraud.
“Judging from the yearly percentage increase (which covers a 15-year period in the first instance), it is predictable that less than 10 per cent of the present consumers will be able to pay these outrageous tariffs in the next few years.
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