Date Published: 09/20/11

HURIWA opposes proposed hike in Electricity Tariff

The recent decision by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to further hike electricity tariff payable by consumers in the country as announced by its executive Chairman Dr. Sam Amadi has been described as a sinister agenda to further impoverish the already extremely pauperized populace even as a call has gone to President Goodluck Jonathan to write his name in gold by withdrawing the proposal.

Besides, President Jonathan has been urged by the HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA, (HURIWA) not to withdraw petroleum subsidy and hike pump prices of petroleum products as proposed by the federal ministry of petroleum resources, but should work out fool- proof modalities to ensure that the subsidy benefit only the poor masses who are in the majority.

The Rights group affirmed that the contemplation of a hike in the pump prices of premium motor spirit [fuel] is a serious disservice to the majority of the citizenry by the President who recently got overwhelming mandate in the April 2011 election from the clear majority of the electorate who are extremely poor and are indeed hopeful that the federal Government could unfold and implement far-reaching pro-poor and pro-people policies and projects to lift them out of perennial poverty, hunger and unemployment.

Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) also said that it has authorized a letter of protest to President Good luck Jonathan on why the ‘retrogressive’, ‘exploitative’, ‘fraudulent’ and ‘anti-peoples’ policy of electricity tariff hike should be revisited immediately because the decision will result in government obtaining consumers’ money by false pretence since electricity power supply is still erratic, irregular and annoyingly inefficient.

Human Rights Writers’ Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA) a pro-democracy and development focused non-governmental body made its position known in a media statement jointly issued by the National Coordinator Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko and the National Director of media Affairs Miss. Zainab Yusuf made available to the media in Abuja.

The Rights group further submitted that the decision by the Federal Government to hike the electricity tariff was ‘unilateral’, ‘provocative’ and not in sync with the popular will of the people of Nigeria even as it asserted that the hasty decision to hike electricity tariff without commensurate improvement in the quality of electricity power supply to Nigerian homes amounted to a total breach of section 14 (a) and (c) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Specifically, section 14(a) and (c) provides that “sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through this constitution derives all its powers and authority” and that “the participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of this constitution”.

HURIWA argued that if the federal government had listened to the overwhelming opinion of Nigerians it would have noted the groundswell of popular opposition against any move to hike electricity tariff especially now that most homes in Nigeria are in total darkness because of the irregular power supply situation.

The Rights group accused the federal government of failing to account for how the massive budgetary allocations and cash releases were spent by officials in the electricity power sector since 1999.

HURIWA stated thus; “we are of the opinion that the federal government should first of all come clean on how officials in the electricity power sector since 1999 spent the huge amount of tax payers’ funds running to several Billions of United States Dollars and ensure that all those found to have diverted public funds to their private offshore accounts are prosecuted and punished because there is no justification for the current inefficient power supply situation in the country when huge public funds have been reportedly spent in the sector by the Peoples Democratic Party-led Federal administrations since 1999”.

The Rights group stated that it will join the Nigerian labour congress’ planned mass action against the proposed hike.

HURIWA recalled that the Power Holding Company of Nigeria had previously increased its electricity tariff from July 1st 2010. From the previously revised tariff document, the rural customer, who was paying N1.30 per kilowatt per hour in 2009, now pays N1.80 per kWh, an increase of 38 per cent.

Also, a single phase residential customer now pays N5.90 instead of N4.40 per kWh, which is an increase of 34 per cent. The highest paying residential customer now pays N12.50 per kWh, an increase of 33 per cent from N9.40.

The lowest paying commercial customer that used to pay N7.40 per kWh is now paying N9.40 an increase of 27 percent, while the highest paying commercial customer pays N12.30, a 27 per cent increase from N9.70.

For industrial customers, the lowest category pays N9.80 per Kwh, from N7.90, up by 27 per cent while the highest category pays N12.90 per Kwh, from 1n12.30, a 25 per cent increase. In the same vein, while residential customers’ tariff had risen by over 30 per cent, that of the commercial and maximum demand customers had risen below 30 per cent.