The pan-Yoruba socio-cultural and political organisation, Afenifere, yesterday, decried the over 200 per cent electricity tariff increase, saying it would thwart the current administration’s effort at boosting the economy as businesses would shrink.

This came as the Chief Whip of the Senate, Mohammed Ali Ndume, has rejected the recent hike in electricity tariff, saying the timing is wrong as Nigerians were yet to recover from the removal of fuel subsidy.

Afenifere, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Jare Ajayi, recalled that as recently as Thursday, April 4, 2024, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu had underscored the role the private sector plays in an economy.

The Afenifere spokesman then wondered how businesses can flourish as desired by the President when the amount to be paid per kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity jumped from N68 to N225 just within 24 hours of its announcement.

Taking a swipe at the policy, Ajayi submitted that it’s erroneous to say that only those who are direct enrollees in a particular band utilise the power being supplied through that band.

“For instance, a Band A consumer is likely to have people in his/her household or place of work where the power is being consumed. Meaning that if 1.5 million is the figure the government has as enrollees on Band A, the number of people who depend on the power coming therefrom would be about five times that figure.”

“Besides, by calling on players in the power sector to ensure that people get what they are paying for is like putting the cart before the horse.”

According to Ajayi, the sing-song virtually everywhere now is the poor supply of electricity and low quality of the commodity sometimes.

“If the relevant government agencies are to be sincere with Nigerians, what they should do is to first ensure regular and efficient supply of electricity before acceding to increase in payment for services that are being poorly rendered.

“A rough calculation indicated that a person on Band A, who was paying an average of N50,000 per month (on N68 per kWh), would now have to pay N170,000 for the same service. Note the increase! It is noteworthy that the Ministry and its agency, the NERC, are interested in the revenue that would be generated rather than first ensuring regular and efficient supply. This is in contradistinction to the claim that the government agencies care about the pains of Nigerians. It is clear that rather than exploring ways to reduce the cost of producing energy thus reducing the pains of Nigerians, the relevant government agencies are passing the price of their own inefficiency on to the people,” he said.

Afenifere called on President Tinubu to compel the Ministry of Power to reverse the present hike and go into alternative energy sources like solar and wind to boost supply.

Also condemning the move, the Chief Whip of the Senate called on the Federal Government to reconsider its position in the interest of Nigerians.

He noted that Nigerians were facing many challenges, including unprecedented inflation, poor purchasing power, insecurity and other hardships.

Ndume advised the Federal Government to focus on providing stable electricity first to Nigerians, reducing the inflation, stabilising the naira, reducing food prices and providing other basic amenities to Nigerians before increasing the tariff.

The lawmaker also wondered why such an important decision was taken without duly consulting the National Assembly as representatives of the people.

He said constituents were reaching out to their representatives to intervene and reverse the astronomical increase.

Ndume said: “The news of the increment came to me and many of my colleagues as a shock. It also came at a time when the National Assembly was on a break. Personally, I think the timing of this hike is very wrong. Nigerians are grappling with many challenges.

“To put this fresh responsibility on them is very unfair. Nigerians are yet to recover from the fuel subsidy removal of last year. Many Nigerians are still grappling with the ripple effects that removal had on them. To now come up with this is wrong.

“I believe that the timing is wrong. There ought to have been some consultations, especially with the National Assembly as representatives of the people. We were not consulted. We saw the news like every other Nigerian.

“The inflation is still very high. The prices of food commodities, drugs, transportation, school fees and other daily expenditures are still on the high side. To now add this new burden is unfair.

“The minimum wage has not been increased. Many state governments are yet to even pay the current minimum wage of N30,000. How do we expect the people to survive? We’ve to be very realistic and feel the pulse of the people we represent as a government.

“For me, I think the Federal Government should first of all provide stable electricity, reduce the inflation, stabilise the naira and prices of food commodities. Then, the purchasing power of Nigerians must significantly improve before we can place a fresh responsibility on them as a government.

“The Federal Government needs to give the National Assembly the opportunity to also step in and consult because we represent the people. We feel their pulse and we know what they are going through right now.”