Rotimi Amaechi, vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), says Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate, will restore electricity subsidy if elected president.

Amaechi spoke on Thursday during ward visits across Omuma Local Government Area (ONELGA) of Rivers state, where he delivered Atiku’s campaign message to residents.

He claimed that the removal of electricity subsidy by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration had significantly increased electricity bills for Nigerians.

“Atiku said I should tell you people that he will bring back the subsidy. Tinubu removed subsidy for electricity bill. He said Band A, B and C,” Amaechi said.

“My house electricity bill was N500,000; now I pay N4 million. Atiku said if he comes, I will go back to N500,000. No more band A and B because government will subsidise it.”

Amaechi also blamed the removal of petrol subsidy for rising transportation and food costs, saying Nigerians have been left to bear the impact of the policy.

The former Rivers governor also linked the country’s insecurity to the economic hardship, saying farmers are increasingly unable to access their farms.

Amaechi said restoring the subsidy under an Atiku administration would help reduce the cost of living.

“He (Tinubu) just held microphone and didn’t care. He just said remove subsidy. Since he removed subsidy, transportation increased, food prices increased — tomatoes, corn, everything,” he said.

“Insecurity also increased. You no even fit go farm, and government doesn’t care. Atiku said he will bring back subsidy. If Atiku brings back subsidy, everything will come down.”

Nigeria’s electricity tariff system is divided into different service bands based on the number of hours of supply customers receive.

Band A customers are expected to receive a minimum of 20 hours of electricity supply daily, while bands B, C, D and E have lower minimum supply thresholds.

The introduction of differentiated tariffs was intended to allow customers who receive more reliable electricity to pay higher rates, while customers with fewer hours of supply pay lower tariffs.

On July 31, Joseph Tegbe, the minister of power, said the federal government planned to phase out subsidy payments in the power sector from 2027.

The federal government said it spent N3.14 trillion on electricity subsidy between June 2023 and December 2025 to cushion the impact of electricity tariff hikes on consumers.