Atiku: Electricity tariff hike will worsen economic hardship | Tinubu’s reforms have no human face

Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration over the hike in electricity tariff.

On Wednesday, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved an increase in electricity tariff for customers under the A and B classifications.

The commission said customers who receive 20 hours of electricity supply daily will pay N225 per kilowatt (kW) from April 3.

The new rate, which is about triple the current rate of N66 per kilowatt (kW), comes amid a pervasive economic hardship and galloping inflation across the country.

The nation’s inflation rate rose to 31.7 percent in February, up from 29.9 percent in January.

In a statement issued on Friday, Abubakar said there was no consultation by the government before the electricity tariff was increased.

The former vice-president said the hike in the electricity tariff will worsen the economic hardship the citizens are facing.

“As usual, the government is unleashing another dose of reforms without adequate notice and without an adequate post-reform plan to mitigate the pain,” the statement reads.

“The increase in electricity tariff comes at a time when Nigerian citizens are going through excruciating difficulties occasioned by the withdrawal of subsidy on PMS and floating of the domestic currency.

“The government has not successfully dealt with the pains associated with the implementation of those measures, and now this.

“The hike in electricity tariff will create more difficulties for the citizens as inflationary pressures are elevated.

“Our manufacturing sector will similarly be impacted negatively. Not only are they paying higher interest rates on their bank loans but also paying more for diesel, paying higher wages as a result of the new minimum wage.”

Abubakar said Tinubu’s government is “pushing the economy into a deeper crisis”.

“His reforms are without a human face,” he said.

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 elections said the government should investigate the “root cause” of the inefficiencies in the power sector before “unleashing another dose of reforms”.

Abubakar called for the review of the privatisation exercise that produced the electricity distribution companies (DISCOs).

He said Tinubu should ensure that the power sector revitalisation is sequenced adding that there must be measures to mitigate the pain occasioned by the reforms while NERC must improve service delivery.