The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has strongly opposed the Federal Government’s proposal to revise electricity tariffs for customers in Bands A, B, and C.
In a statement issued on Sunday following its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Yola, Adamawa State, the NLC warned that it would mobilize mass nationwide protests if the government proceeds with the plan.
Last Thursday, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, announced plans to upgrade lower tariff bands to Band A.
However, in the communique signed by NLC General Secretary Emmanuel Ugboaja, the union firmly rejected the “forced migration” of consumers from lower bands to Band A.
“On the Migration of Electricity Consumers with a view to increasing tariff: NEC unequivocally rejects the ongoing sham reclassification of electricity consumers by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), which seeks to forcefully migrate consumers from lower bands to Band A under the guise of service improvement while, in reality, imposing unjustified extortion on the masses,” the NLC declared.
“This systematic exploitation, sanctioned by the Ministry of Power, is nothing short of economic violence against the working class and broader Nigerian populace.
“It is evident that the ruling elite, acting as enforcers of global monopoly capital, are determined to further deepen the misery of the Nigerian people through incessant tariff hikes, increased taxation, and relentless economic strangulation.
“Whereas inflation has soared, wages remain stagnant, and the cost of living has become unbearable, the ruling class continues to transfer the burden of their fiscal irresponsibility onto the already impoverished working masses.
“NEC-in-session warns that any attempt to announce further electricity tariff increases will be met with mass resistance.
“Consequently, the Congress resolves to immediately mobilise for a nationwide protest should the Ministry of Power and NERC proceed with their exploitative plan to further hike electricity tariffs under any guise.
“The NLC shall not stand idly by while the Nigerian people are subjected to the unholy machinations of capitalist profiteers and their state collaborators.”
For decades, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has been faced with intractable energy challenges, no thanks to an epileptic power supply which significantly affects productivity levels. Despite the privatisation of the electricity sector, power generation, transmission and distribution have remained bogged with hydra-headed monsters of policy inconsistency, low investments and operational challenges.
In 2024, NERC approved the upward review of electricity prices with a unit of power costing about N250 for Band A customers.
The cost of petrol and diesel which are readily available alternatives have equally increased by fivefold, compounding the dilemma of consumers. In the same year, NERC granted at least some State’s Electrify Regulatory Commissions licenses to power plants and power distribution.