By : Doris Oliver
NLC Requests FG to halt the proposed electricity tarrif hike come July 1st.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, yesterday called on the Federal Government to put a stop to tarrif hike of 40 percent, which is billed to take effect from July 1, 2023.
The NLC Boss Comrade Joe Ajaero ” described the proposed increase in tariff as insensitive and callous”.
It will be recalled that in announcing the proposed tariff increase, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, said that the current Service Based Tariff, SBT, was benchmarked on an exchange rate of N441/$ and inflation of 16.97 per cent.
It argued that since the value of the naira to the dollar now hovers above N700 and current rate of inflation stands at 22.45 per cent, it has become necessary to increase tariff to mitigate operators’ cost of operation.
The NLC Boss said “with contemplation of increase in school fees in tertiary institutions and already high fees in privately-owned ones, in addition to other costs/tariffs on the way, life in Nigeria could truly be Hobbesian.
The union in a statement by the President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, advised federal government to shelve the proposed tariff hike in the collective safety of the masses.
The statement read, “The plan to increase electricity tariff by 40% by July 1 is both insensitive and callous and reflects an organised indifference to the well-being of consumers, especially, the poor masses.”
The NLC satatement says “the service providers, in spite of sundry support, have not been able to meet the threshold of 5,000 megawatts”. “Coupled with this, there have been surreptitious increases without notice in violation of the statutes”.
“The inherent risk in the new regime of tariff is that there is no control, implying that by August, consumers will pay new rates”.
“The other risk is that by the time other products or service-rendering entities come up with their new prices or rates, the ordinary person would have been compacted into dust”.
“We would want to advise apostles of market driven tariff, who have called NLC all sorts of names to check their conscience”.
“The rate at which they are going is highly combative and combustible. With contemplation of payment of increased school fees in tertiary institutions and increases in privately-owned ones, in addition to other costs/tariffs on the way, life in Nigeria could truly be Hobbesian”.
Ajaero insisted “The market economies, which the market fundamentalists seek to emulate, have in place socio-economic safeguards which we do not have. This will be detrimental to the life of the people of Nigeria who are already struggling with the removal of fuel subsidy, raising inflation and high exchange rate on naira as Labour wants government to justify the tarrif increase with affordability and availability of product service”.
“In the light of this, our advice is that this proposed tariff hike should be shelved for our collective safety”.
