Nigerian Government Unveils Next Steps Following Workers’ Protest Against Electricity Tariff Increase

Nigerian Government Unveils Next Steps Following Workers’ Protest Against Electricity Tariff Increase

The ongoing debate surrounding last month’s electricity tariff hike continues as Nigerian workers disrupted activities in the power sector on Monday, demanding its reversal….. read also

According to ireporteronline, organized labor picketed the offices of all eleven Electricity Distribution Companies and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). In Abuja, the protest was led by Joe Ajaero, NLC president, to the Ministry of Power and the NERC headquarters. Offices of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company were also shut down as workers were prevented from resuming duties. Similarly, they picketed the offices of the eleven discos in Kwara, Lagos, Kaduna, Plateau, Enugu, Sokoto, and other parts of the country.

During the picketing, Ajaero emphasized the need for NERC to review its methodology for tariff increases in the electricity sector. He highlighted that the tariff hike is the fundamental cause of the country’s soaring headlines and food inflation, which stood at 33.20 percent and 40.01 percent in March.

In response to the organized labor’s one-day protest, the Nigerian Government stated its readiness to negotiate with organized labor. Florence Eke, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Power, explained that the Federal Government, through the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Mamman Mahmuda, had scheduled a consultative meeting for the next week with organized labor and stakeholders to address the matter. She emphasized that the Ministry’s role is to make policy while agencies like NERC implement it.

However, the Nigeria Labour Congress spokesperson, Benson Upah, criticized the government for not consulting before implementing the April 3 electricity tariff hike. He warned that the picketing was just a teaser of what was to come if the Nigerian Government did not reverse the tariff hike.

Recall that in April 2024, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission announced a 240 percent electricity tariff increase for Band A customers receiving 20-24 hours of power supply. This led to customers in band A paying N225 per kWh from N68 per kWh. Despite a recent minor reduction of N18.2, workers’ picketing of Discos and NERC indicated that organized labor is unsatisfied with the Government’s minor tariff reduction.

Reacting to the development, Ewetumo A A, a retired staff member of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), formerly the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), expressed that the picketing by organized labor was long overdue. He highlighted the need for NERC to adopt a more pragmatic and gradual three-step review approach to implementing its Cost Reflective Tariff Regime without unsettling the economy. Additionally, he advised the Federal government to explore a Public-Private Partnership initiative to fund the power sector and incorporate various states into blocks of regions for a total transformation of the Power Sector.