Halt proposed electricity tariff increase, OPC tells Tinubu

The President of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Otunba Wasiu Afolabi, has made an appeal to President Bola Tinubu, urging him to prevent the proposed increase in electricity tariffs from being implemented.

As previously reported by Tribune Online, the distribution companies in Nigeria (Discos) had suggested a rise in electricity tariffs and subsequently approached the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to review them upward.

In response, the OPC issued a statement on Sunday through its General Secretary, Bunmi Fasehun, denouncing the move as “anti-people, oppressive, unjustified, and aimed at discrediting the new regime of President Bola Tinubu.”

Afolabi, the OPC President, emphasized that Nigerians were still grappling with the consequences of fuel subsidy removal, and an increase in electricity tariffs would only exacerbate the burdens faced by citizens and paint the Tinubu administration as lacking in compassion.

He stated, “Today, citizens are the ones buying their own poles, transformers, cables, and prepaid meters. DISCOs have turned themselves into rent-takers and blackout distributors.”

Furthermore, Afolabi advised the DISCOs to follow the example set by telecommunications companies, which have reduced the costs consumers pay for calls and data, rather than increasing electricity tariffs.

Afolabi urged the DISCOs to justify the massive amounts of public funds that previous administrations had invested in the sector, even after the privatisation of the distribution segment of the electricity value chain.

Afolabi went on to say, “President Tinubu should inform the distribution companies that if they cannot deliver satisfactory service with the current tariff, they should surrender their licenses and cease operations.

Moreover, the government should eliminate the territorial monopoly, where only one DISCO controls a service area and prevents competition.”

He suggested that consumers in any given area should have the freedom to choose and switch to other DISCOs, similar to the system in the telecommunications industry and other countries.

This would create competition among DISCOs and incentivise them to provide quality service in order to retain customers and avoid losing them to rival suppliers.