The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch, has given the Federal Government and Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) a seven-day ultimatum to reverse the old electricity tariff or face a lawsuit.
Jerrymusa.com reports that this was stated by the branch’s chairman, Mr. Seyi Olawunmi, during a press conference on Tuesday in Lagos.
Olawunmi deemed it insensitive and irrational that the price of power had increased by about 300 percent.
Nigerian’s Live In Economic Uncertainty
According to him, the National Electric Regulation Commission’s (NERC) order regarding the price hike and the typical Nigerian’s current financial situation.
If the Federal Government and concerned parties do not reverse the illegal electricity pricing within seven days, he warned, the branch will pursue the relevant legal actions.
Olawunmi pointed out that the new Multi-Year Pricing Order (MYTO 2024) released by NERC in December 2023 purportedly suggested cost-reflective pricing that the different Discos would be entitled to charge.
He clarified that the federal government was purportedly responsible for a significant portion of the electricity tariff through a subsidy scheme.
The chairman stated that the end-user’s electricity rate had increased by more than 300 percent as a result of the Federal Government allegedly eliminating the alleged subsidy.
Regardless of the technical justifications preferred for justification, we see this abrupt and exorbitant increase in the end-user tariff as wholly exploitative and unreflective of the current economic difficulties that the majority of people are experiencing.
The devaluation of the naira and inflation have made it nearly impossible to continue using their services at the previous rate, and the cost of electricity in Nigeria is exorbitant.
Therefore, we urge that the N225 per kWh illegally implemented and imposed on the so-called band A subscribers, at the whim of both the Discos and NERC, be stopped immediately without any empirical support.