Electricity tariff hike: FG convenes meeting as Labour threatens indefinite protest

The Federal Government will convene an important meeting the next week to discuss the demands of organised labour, which are to restore the power subsidy and reverse the increase in the price of electricity.

The Ministry of Power's spokesperson, Mrs. Florence Eke, made this announcement a few hours after labour unions on Monday interfered with ministry operations in Abuja.

However, organised labour has stressed that if the government doesn't reverse the price hike, it may take serious measures and warned to carry out the protest indefinitely.

The protests caused nationwide distribution companies' operations to be halted and immobilised the Federal Ministry of Power and the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The Federal Government's decision to increase electricity rates and eliminate the subsidies from the power sector set off a widespread uprising.

At a press conference in Abuja on April 3, the NERC revealed that Band A consumers would henceforth pay N225 per kilowatt-hour, instead of the prior rate of N68/kWh, for energy.

The gain amounted to a 240% rise.

With this event, customers in the Band A category—who made up around 15% of all 12.82 million electricity consumers nationwide—had their tariff subsidies removed.

The Federal Government estimated that the tariff increase will save N1.5 trillion.

The government announced that the decision became operative on April 3, 2024, and that Band A consumers will have access to power for up to 20 hours every day.

The NERC was previously given until May 12 to revoke the raise or face labour action from the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria.

A spokesperson for the ministry of power, Eke, told one of our correspondents that the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. Mamman Mahmuda, had acknowledged the National Union of Electricity Employees' concerns about inadequate consultation prior to the imposition of the new tariffs.

She reaffirmed the ministry's commitment to openness and promised to have a thorough discussion about the concerns brought up with all pertinent parties.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Power spoke to the union today when they were in Power House. He promised that by the following week, the ministry will arrange a stakeholder meeting to discuss all issues, as one of their concerns was that insufficient consultation had place prior to the rate rise. By next week, the ministry would invite the stakeholders, according to the permanent secretary.

However, the unions were not impressed and gave the federal government a week to rescind the higher electricity pricing.

The NLC's National Treasurer, Hakeem Ambali, stated that the demonstration on Monday was a one-day event and that the unions would launch "a full-blown action" if the government did not stop raising tariffs.

The demonstration is a one-day alert. He threatened to go into full labour if nothing changes after a week.

Similarly, Tommy Etim, the First National Deputy President of the TUC, declared that unless the tariff hike is overturned, no communication with the government would take place.

TUC desires a reversal.

"We are certain that they have heard us after we have conveyed our message. However, the current spike needs to be completely reversed before we speak with any stakeholders. That is what we require.
Speaking earlier to protestors and the NERC administration at the commission's Abuja offices, NLC President Joe Ajaero claimed that because of the country's pitifully low electricity supply, Nigerians were living in power poverty.

Ajaero pointed out that Lagos, a single state in Nigeria, does not even receive adequate electricity from Nigeria.

He also took issue with the NERC's decision to raise rates without consulting any parties involved in the electricity industry.

"We are here on a peaceful protest after writing numerous letters to NERC management reminding them that they cannot raise tariffs without meeting with Nigerians," he declared. We reminded them that they needed to meet with labour and other stakeholders as part of the tariff-hiking process.

"We are unaware of the source of the present tariff. The reality that Nigeria is living in abject poverty is not lost on NERC. Nigeria is at the bottom of the list of nations with inadequate electricity supplies worldwide.

"What Nigeria is producing currently is insufficient for Lagos alone, and it is already unacceptable for you to tell us that some Nigerians are more successful than others. Saying that some Nigerians will receive 20 hours while others will receive two hours is already problematic.

The NLC president issued a challenge to the commission, stating that the Mambilla facility has the potential to produce over 3,600 MW of electricity if it is operational, to inform Nigerians about the power plant it plans to build before the end of the year.

He added that the commission was causing inflation and that the NERC could not continue to impose prices in the absence of readily available and accessible power.
Sanusi Garba, the chairman of the NERC, responded by saying that the commission was more concerned with boosting present generation capacity than it was with sanctioning new power plants, as desired by organised labour.

He promised that in regards to the demands made by organised labour, the committee would return to the "drawing board."

"We have listened to what you have to say, especially about the affordability of tariffs. We've paid attention to your worries as well as those of Nigerians.

We also took note of what Comrade Ajaero mentioned concerning energy sources, and to add to that, we are working hard to increase solar generation to the point where tariffs will begin to decrease. The new Zungeru power plant is already producing over 600 megawatts.

Additionally, Comrade Ajaero mentioned banks' representation on distribution businesses' boards. In order to ensure that appropriate investors are represented on the boards of distribution companies, the NERC had already set deadlines for all banks to leave these positions. The NERC chief promised, "We have taken note of your concerns and we will go back to the drawing board.

Regarding the demand for a reversal of the tariff hike, the chairman of the NERC revealed that customers could denounce DisCos that disobeyed the order, and that distribution companies were instructed to impose a cap on predicted billings.

His attempts at consoling the demonstrators were met with chants along the lines of 'No, No, reverse the raise; we demand a total reversal of the electricity tariff hike'.

Speaking at the power ministry during the demonstration, the National Union of Electricity Employees expressed concern for the safety of its members, claiming that the recent increase in electricity rates had put their lives in danger on a daily basis.

Workers in the electricity industry

"You asked my members to accept a price increase of 300 percent, yet their salaries have not increased by one percent," said union president Adebiyi Adeyeye in response to the tariff hike. Where is this carried out?

"It's clearly clear that my employees are always under threat. Individuals are unable to bear this financial load.

He urged the administration to undo the tariff increase within the next day and threatened to take further measures "if this is not changed by tomorrow."
Adeyeye responded, "I can't confirm that there is any plan to shut down the national grid," when asked if the union would do so. Nothing like that has come from my desk, and we have not issued any directives in that regard.

Protesters blocked the offices of Discos in various cities across the nation, including Lagos, Delta, Ekiti, Osun, and Kaduna.
Workers were heard singing and demanding the cancellation of the Band A pricing at the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company's corporate headquarters in Lagos.

The NERC and BEDC offices in Delta State were closed by the unions, enacting a similar scenario there.

Speaking soon after the drill, Goodluck Ofobruku, the state chairman of the NLC, charged that the government was "strangulating Nigerians."

"We are not protesting; rather, we are closing the NERC and Disco offices due to the elimination of the purported electricity subsidy," he declared.

The government wants to strangle Nigerians, so anytime they need money, they raise prices on items and services that we don't need and don't get value for. Therefore, the Delta State offices of BEDC and NERC have been locked.

Protesters in Oyo broke into the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company's office and forced them to close.

A few police officers were stationed at the business to keep things under control.

A few employees who returned to work were scattered by the protesting labour leaders at the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company's Osogbo Regional head office.
The demonstrators also travelled to the NERC office in Osogbo's Alekuwodo Area, where they staged a demonstration against the rate increase for energy.

The protestors, who were led by Abimbola Fasasi and Christopher Arapasopo, the chairs of the TUC and the NLC in Osun, also targeted a few offices of the energy distribution firm in Osogbo, the city where the demonstration was place.

The Osun TUC Chairman, Fa