– Nigerians are yet to come to terms with the recent hike in electricity tariffs
– The minister of power, Babatunde Fashola said the increment was painful but the government had no other choice
– According to Fashola, the problem with the power sector can be solved if Nigerians give them the right tools to work with
Babatunde Fashola, the minister of Power, Works and Housing has described the increase in electricity tariffs as a “a painful pill,” which consumers have to swallow.
Fashola begs Nigerians to accept ‘painful’ electricity tariff hike
Speaking on Monday, February 7, on the sidelines of the second monthly sectoral meeting with stakeholders in the power sector in Lagos, Fashola explained that the electricity increase tariffs was the first major policy the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is coming up with, The Punch reports.
He said: “Importantly, I understand that people who have been disappointed over a long time will feel a sense of concern that again tariffs have gone up. But the truth is that these tariffs ought to have been there from day one. I don’t know why the government of yesterday was not courageous enough to tell us this was the price.
“It is a painful pill that I must appeal that we swallow. It is like quinine and malaria. It’s painful; it’s not sweet, I know that, but I do it because we are not left with many choices. This is the first major decision in power that this administration has taken. There are other problems.
“I can only appeal for some understanding and some trust that we do this in the best interest of our country. It is a hard decision, but I think down the line, we will have cause to look…”
According to Fashola, the power sector had challenges such as gas supply shortfall, transmission issue and the way the way the privatisation exercise was carried out by the immediate past administration of Goodluck Jonathan.
Recall that Jonathan’s administration had in November 2013 privatised the successor generation and distribution companies carved out of the defunct government-owned Power Holding Company of Nigeria, leaving out the transmission segment of the value chain.
The power minister however, said he was not going to dwell on the past but move on.
“This is a problem that has been here for 16 years, if we put it mildly. It is a problem that has been here 100 years ago, if we put it really extremely. I have been here for less than a 100 days, and I think we can solve this problem if you give us the tools that we need to do it. I think that this problem can be solved, and the day that we feel that it cannot be solved, I will gladly come and tell you that I don’t think it will work,” he stated.
Fashola’s comments came at a time Nigerian workers under the aegis of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, joined by Civil Society Organizations are protesting nationwide against the policy, grounding commercial activities in several cities in the country.
Naij.com recalls that the (NERC) on Monday, February 1 effected the new electricity price tariff . NERC boss, Dr. Anthony Akah, had stressed that there is no going back on the new tariffs.
Fashola had on Tuesday, February 2, said that the increment in electricity tariff will improve power supply, while assuring that the new tariff was a ten-year policy that would not be reviewed upwards or downwards.
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