‘NLC will challenge increased electricity tariff in court’
What is your opinion on the recent hike in electricity tariff? As an organisation, part of our primary mandate is to engage in policies in order to benefit the masses. And that is why the NLC provided a platform to bring together the consumers, civil society allies that work in the area of protecting the […]
What is your opinion on the recent hike in electricity tariff?
As an organisation, part of our primary mandate is to engage in policies in order to benefit the masses. And that is why the NLC provided a platform to bring together the consumers, civil society allies that work in the area of protecting the consumers, comrades from legal backgrounds and all of us working together to look at the outrageous increase in electricity tariff.
The increased tariff has drastically affected the economy and the welfare of every Nigerian. And on the basis of that, many people will not be able to afford to pay the new tariff. It has also affected the manufacturing sector. You must have heard that the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria said they would be out of business if that tariff is allowed to stand. The issue of non-metering and estimated billing are exploitations. And that is typical of a business that is monopolised. Because after the so-called privatisation, what they did was to transfer our common wealth to the hands of a few. And a business that is monopolised is only driven by profit. And that is why they say they are looking at profit margin, that the profit margin is not there.
How do you intend to challenge the increased electricity tariff?
We would engage the issue from three fronts. The first is the issue of going to court to challenge the issue legally, because the increase is illegal in the first place. We went to court and the court gave a restraining order. So, as am talking to you now, a process of committing all of them that have violated that order on contempt charges is on the way. Already, they have been served and the case is coming up very soon. Secondly, we are engaging the issue directly through a platform the unions created. Before now, no strategic stakeholder has actually been engaged. They claimed they consulted people, but who? If manufacturers association is crying foul, we the organised labour that actually represent a very sizable number are also crying foul because we have not been consulted. Who then have they consulted? So it is obvious what they did was to consult their friends and brothers and then come up with this idea of hiking the tariff. What is even more worrisome is the fact that meters are not available. So this is the background that led us to provide a national platform where all people would be allowed to air their grievances. And that we did and we made our point very clear. It is an ongoing process and we are giving it a firm commitment. In fact yesterday, I spoke with the chairman Senate Committee on Labour and they have requested us to submit our memorandums. There will be a joint public hearing by the two chambers of the National Assembly and we will once again raise the issue on the basis of that. A decision certainly will be taken in the best interest of Nigerians.
But the point is very clear. We are also going to consult and come up with our own engagement strategy, because people should not be exploited especially in the absence of meters.
And therefore, one of the issues we are looking out for is, people should not pay bills if they don’t have meters because it is their absolute responsibility to provide meters to Nigerians.
How did you arrive at the conclusion that the new tariff is outrageous?
Let me tell you what happens in other spheres. Whereas they are quoting Ghana as paying higher tariff than Nigeria, the reverse is the case. Ghana was in the same situation like us, but their own is more transparent. More transparent in the sense that they put the facts on the table and in the course of finding solutions, they were told the solution will cost them high tariff but with the guarantee that electricity will really be stable. And they put the price on the table and after the people processed it and agreed on the price, their government on its own reduced it by 50%. This is really the case of Ghana and not the way the Minister of Power is saying that it’s a bitter bill that must be pushed down the throat of Nigerians.
This government in the first place, is one that needs to be very sensitive because the challenges in the economy are very high. So what they are doing is like adding insult to injury, and that is why we are very passionate about this tariff issue. This government should look at good examples that abound. Ghana, and Ethiopia are good examples. Ethiopia privatised their own but they didn’t make things worse for their citizens. To raise funds they went to the money market. Every citizen of Ethiopia bought shares into their power reform companies, and as at today, they have generated over $10 billion. Because of the transparent nature of the policy, people bought the idea and it became a success.
If they don’t have money to drive the business, let them make it public, Nigerians are ready to buy into it. Why must you complain? The business has already been sold to you. Why do you have to be complaining you don’t have money to drive the business? We want the ordinary Nigerian to know that this is the bases of our argument and disagreement against them.
Every company wants to make profit, Discos shouldn’t be an exception?
What propels our stand is that every policy of the government is about the people and people must be the centre point that drives these policies. People must be thoroughly engaged and government must also look at the global best practices in dealing with what will benefit all of us. Therefore, our expectation is that the facts must be put on the table for the people to look at and we jointly come up with an acceptable ground.
For instance, what is the technical competence of the people that bought those companies in the first place? What is their financial base, can they be able to deliver on the mandate of providing power to Nigerians? Or we will come back after a few years and continue to lament? These are the issues to consider, because look at the amount of money that has been put into the power sector, yet we have been in darkness.
In other spheres, half of that money or a quarter of it would have provided sufficient light. So for us to demand accountability and to even look at the process of privatisation, I think it is very noble. And we should actually be commended for that. But I think beyond that, government needs to revisit the issue of privatising those companies because it is very clear the foundation of the exercise is very faulty. And with a faulty foundation, no matter how you want to rebuild the power sector, if those issues are not revisited, we may not be able to deliver.
And empirical data should be used to determine if they can deliver on the mandate of providing stable power supply to consumers. If they cannot, government has the responsibility to revoke the sale and I am sure Nigerians will raise funds if transparency is employed to ensure the power supply issue is resolved once and for all. Nigerians must rise against the continued exploitation we are undergoing in the hands of these people.
But before that, our mandate is to making sure that Nigerians get adequate service for their money regarding power supply. From information in our reach, these people want us to be paying for the power wastages they incur in the process of generation and distribution. So why should we pay for the losses they incur during these processes even when the power has not gotten to the consumers? If Nigerians are to pay for their inefficiencies, they will make sure the inefficiencies continue, and this is what the organised labour is kicking against.
To what extent can the NLC go to reverse the hiked tariff?
Well, Nigerians must wake up and start demanding for good governance. Because the issue of people sitting in their homes and trying to shift the burden is not what obtains elsewhere. We must be able to take our destiny in our hands because if policies are bad, they are bad. What the NLC will do is to create a platform that people can use to engage in issues and get better results; not for people to be sleeping in their houses and expecting NLC to carry the burden alone, because issues like this electricity tariff hike are not only about the workers but all Nigerians. It is about good governance and about a process that needed to be transparent. But having engaged in this issue in the first place, the NLC as a mass organisation working together with our civil society allies will remain very consistent to making sure that it continues this fight until the right thing is done. And clearly, this is a battle that all Nigerians must continue to support.