‘Nigerians gasping for breath’ — Afenifere asks Tinubu to halt planned electricity tariff hike

Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, has asked President Bola Tinubu to urgently halt moves by some government institutions to jack up prices of commodities and services like electricity.

In a statement by Jare Ajayi, its national publicity secretary, Afenifere said hiking prices would “further worsen the precarious situations of hapless Nigerians”.

The group said various steps taken lately by the current administration could lift Nigeria in the medium to long term, but that there is a need to ensure citizens are not overwhelmed by these policies.

“But there is the need to ensure that the people are not squeezed out of breath before that good time comes, as it is only a person who is wholesomely alive that would enjoy the largesse of tomorrow,” Afenifere said.

“It would be recalled that the electricity Distribution Companies in the country (Discos) on June 25, 2023, announced that from July 1, the tariffs being paid by electricity consumers in Nigeria will go up by 40 per cent.

“In the same vein, Engineer Abdulhafiz Toriola, permanent secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, on Tuesday, June 27th, quoted the federal government joint tax board as imposing a levy of N1,000 per annum on every vehicle owner in Nigeria. The payment was said to be in form of Proof of Ownership Certificate (POC).

“This is without regard to various taxes vehicle owners pay yearly viz vehicle licence, insurance, road worthiness and hackney permit (for commercial vehicles) etc.

“In many states across the country, some road users (other than pedestrians) have daily payments to make to be allowed to ply the roads.

“As though to further squeeze the citizens, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has made it obligatory for commercial banks to collect and verify their customers’ social media handles as part of their Know Your Customer (KYC) process.”

‘NIGERIANS PAYING FOR GOVERNMENT’S NEGLIGENCE’

Afenifere said the directive amounts to making members of the public to pay for the failure and negligence of relevant organs of government.

“The CBN, through its director, financial policy and regulations department, Chibuzo Efobi, said that it gave the directive with a view to ‘bolstering compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism provisions’,” the group said.

“Already, every telephone user in the country got captured as directed by the National Communications Commission (NCC) with the National Identity Number (NIN) incorporated. Besides, every bank customer now has what is known as Bank Verification Number (BVN).

“Email addresses were also registered with the banks into which information from banks are sent to the respective customers. Meaning that the information this new directive is seeking is already within the purview of government agencies.”

Afenifere, however, applauded Tinubu for “some bold steps” within one month of assuming office.

The group noted that his actions are restoring people’s confidence in the government and have the potential for a broader economic transformation.

“But the way some of the policies are being implemented are making many to ‘gasp for breath’,” the group said.

Afenifere asked Tinubu to ensure that the increase in electricity tariff is not effected secretly as had been done before.