Monday Ubani, a former second national vice-president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has urged the federal government to ensure that all Nigerians are metered before increasing electricity tariff.
Speaking during a chat with TheCable on Tuesday, Ubani implored Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power; and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC); to ensure that stakeholders in the energy sector do not derail the “good plans” of the federal government by imposing more hardship on Nigerians.
“Right now, we are unable to generate enough to distribute which is actually what is causing a lot of problems in the system,” he said.
“Even those in Band A are not getting the 20 to 24 hours of electricity they talked about. I live in an estate and I am not getting anything close to that. Maybe only those in Banana Island are getting it.
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“Right now, the minister has not addressed the issue of metering. The DisCos are still doing estimated bills. What they will do now is, they will increase everyone’s tariff and will be giving you estimated bills. Meanwhile, you don’t have a meter to measure the quantity you are using. The federal government should address the issue of metering before increasing tariff.
“They said they removed the subsidy on electricity being consumed by customers on Band A feeders but I don’t think that is true. The DisCos are going ahead to increase the tariff for everyone, not only those in Band A. I was called from my village that they will soon increase our electricity even when we have had no light for years.”
He added that Nigeria urgently needs to diversify its power sources.
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“Right now, nobody is talking about solar or nuclear energy source. We are only relying on one energy source, which is gas-powered,” he said.
“We have enough of gas which we could have used to generate power but we are flaring it. We are wasting the gas and making the people to pay when we have these natural resources in abundance.
“My take is that we are putting the cart before the horse. We should be able to address some of the teething problems in the energy sector that borders on the issue of generation, transmission, distribution and metering of Nigerians.
“When everyone is metered, people will be happy to pay even when you increase because they know they are paying for the amount of electricity they consume.
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“I am not against the government on the removal of subsidy. They needed the money for use on other social services. But I believe that input of more stakeholders would have made more meaning.
“The government means well for Nigerians but there is need to carry Nigerians along in whatever decisions they are taking.”
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