Explain subsidy removal in power sector, Nigerians ask FG

Ini Billie Uyo

Nigerians have urged the Federal Government to explain the removal of subsidies in the power sector, saying an unsatisfactory answer means that the purported subsidy is a scam.

Speaking at the weekend in Uyo under the aegis of Akwa Ibom Electricity Consumers Forum, Nigerians said there was a need for government to transparently explain what it termed subsidy removal in the power sector to warrant the proposed increase in electricity tariffs.

In a communique signed by the Coordinator, Human Rights Community Consumers Forum, Clifford Thomas, Esq. and the Chairman, Akwa Ibom Electricity Consumers Forum, Comrade Ime Udoh, they disagreed that the subsidy was paid by the government, saying subsidy cannot be paid to profit-making organisations and private monopolies called Electricity Distribution Companies.

“The Government must not increase electricity tariffs. The burden is already too heavy on Nigerians right now, and Nigerians cannot afford to pay more to private monopolies called Electricity Distribution Companies.

“We disagree with the notion that there was, or is, subsidy paid by the government on electricity tariff in Nigeria. Distribution companies are profit-making organizations whose major aims include making profits.

“How can the government claim that it was subsidizing the profit-making objectives of profit-making companies, which are not even supplying commensurate energy to the people?

“We demand the Federal Government to explain in the most satisfactory manner to the people transparently, the dynamics of what it calls subsidy removal in the power sector, to warrant the proposed increase in electricity tariffs.

“If the FG cannot explain, we, therefore, conclude that electricity subsidy is a scam. The Rights of electricity consumers must be respected,” they stated.

The Forum urged electricity consumers in Akwa Ibom State not to pay contested estimated bills given by Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC), adding that the distribution companies can now sue and can be sued.

It demanded the removal of the gas monopoly so States with gas reserves could harness it to power electricity, cars, and domestic cooking, adding that it would stop the practice of gas flaring, which has destroyed the environment.