The President of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Otunba Wasiu Afolabi, has pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to stop the proposed increase in electricity tariffs.
Politics Nigeria earlier reported that the distribution companies in Nigeria (Discos) had proposed an increase in electricity tariffs and subsequently wrote to Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for an upward review.
Meanwhile, in a statement by its General Secretary on Sunday, Bunmi Fasehun, the OPC described the move as “anti-people, oppressive, unjustified and aimed at discrediting the new regime of President Bola Tinubu.”
The president noted that Nigerians were still grappling with the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy, and increasing the electricity tariff “would be adding to citizens’ burden and paint the Tinubu administration as uncaring.”
His words:
“Today, citizens are the ones buying their own poles, transformers, cables and prepaid meters. DISCOs have turned themselves into rent-takers and blackout distributors.”
Meanwhile, Afolabi advised the DISCOs to borrow the example of the telecommunications companies that have reduced the cost consumers pay for calls and data instead of increasing electricity tariffs.
Afolabi said, “OPC asked DISCOs to justify the hundreds of billions in public funds that past regimes had pumped into the sector, even when the distribution segment of the electricity value chain had been privatised.
His words:
“President Tinubu should tell the distribution companies that if they cannot deliver with the current tariff, they should submit their licences and close shop.
“Moreover, the government should scrap this territorial monopoly, where only one DISCO has commandeered a service area and allows no competition.
“Consumers in any area should be able to choose and transfer to other DISCOs as currently obtained in telecommunications and other countries. That will create competition and push DISCOs to render quality service in order not to lose customers to competing suppliers.”
