Opposition from Organised Labour to the electricity tariff hike and subsidy removal in the sector has been criticized by the Federal Government.
Florence Eke, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Power, backed up Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu’s justification of the electricity tariff hike during a Senate public hearing the previous week.
In an interview with Punch, Eke stated that the government was standing firm on its decision regarding the electricity tariff despite objections from trade unions.
She emphasized that the government found the burden of the electricity subsidy too heavy to sustain.
This comes after organized labour issued a two-week ultimatum demanding the reversal of the electricity tariff increase.
Despite this, the Trade Union Congress has maintained its stance on the two-week ultimatum issued to the Federal Government for tariff reversal.
Nigeria Labour Congress President, Joe Ajaero, criticized the tariff hike, stating that the government should not be setting tariffs in a sector that is already deregulated.
The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission announced the electricity tariff hike for Band A customers during a press briefing in Abuja on April 3, stating that affected customers would now pay N225 per kilowatt-hour, a significant increase from the previous rate of N68/kWh, marking a 240% increase.
Subsidies on electricity were completely removed from Band A customers, who make up about 15% of the total 12.82 million power consumers nationwide.
The Federal Government claimed that the tariff hike would result in savings of N1.5 trillion.
The government announced that the tariff change took effect on April 3, 2024, and Band A customers would receive up to 20 hours of power supply daily.