Again, NLC warns FG against electricity tariff hike

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned the federal government against flouting their agreement on electricity tariff increase.

In a statement on Friday, in Abuja, Ayuba Wabba, NLC president, said the FGN-labour committee on electricity had agreed on September 28, 2020, that power distribution companies should halt any increase in energy tariff till further notice.

Wabba said the attention of the NLC has been drawn to a media report that the electricity tariff would rise by over a hundred per cent from January 2022.

”The story was purportedly distilled from the remarks of the Special Adviser to the President on Infrastructure at the stakeholders’ engagement of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) held in Lagos on Sept.17,” Wabba said.

”To be charitable, Congress had received a refutation of the newspaper report from the Special Adviser and Secretary of the FGN-Labour Committee on Electricity Tariff earlier on Sept. 21.

”He also apprised Congress leadership that he had been contacted by some other newspapers between Sept. 8 and Sept. 20 for confirmation of the story and that he categorically debunked the basis and essence of the attributed statement.

”We, however, note that the relevant part of the newspaper report revolves around the point that “the Federal Government is ending N300billion subsidy by January 2022.

”In essence, Congress hopes that the newspaper report was an overly extended interpretation of the ostensible plan to end the subsidy of the electricity sector.

”It is rather significant to state that the existence of a subsidy or lack of it in the electricity sector is one of the contentious matters the FG-Labour Committee on Electricity Tariff was mandated to handle.”

Wabba maintained that there cannot be any hike until the FGN-labour committee on electricity tariff concludes its work and its report is submitted and adopted by the principals in the broad FG-Labour platform, led by the secretary to the government of the federation and the Presidents of NLC and TUC, respectively.

Earlier in the month, the NLC had vowed that it would deploy the industrial mechanics in labour laws to resist any planned increase in electricity tariff.