FG may end electricity subsidy by December, says presidential aide

Ahmed Zakari, special adviser to the president on infrastructure, says the federal government may halt the payment of electricity subsidies by the end of 2021.

Speaking during a webinar organised by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AICC), Zakari said ending subsidy will ensure the delivery of adequate power.

ThisDay reports that the presidential aide said the Nigerian electricity supply industry (NESI) is projected to generate over N100 billion in the mid-term.

“With this enhanced metering on the service-based tariff, we can see the Nigerian electricity supply industry generating over N100 billion in the near to mid-term. This is very impressive,” Zakari said.

“The hypothesis that we have is that if you enhance payment discipline through metering the population, revenue will go up. We have proven that.

“We plan to eliminate subsidy by the end of the year. People will say if you eliminate subsidies, you will have poor people pay more. But our argument is that the only reason the power prices in Nigeria are high is that we don’t generate enough.

“If you generate 10GW of power, the tariff will be half of what it costs. So, keeping the prices very low is not the approach, but delivering adequate power.”

In February, Saleh Mamman, minister of power, said the federal government spends over N50 billion monthly on subsidising electricity.