By Nudoiba Ojen
The organized labour on Monday gave the Federal Government a deadline of May 31, 2024, to reverse the hike in electricity tariff.
Labour, comprising Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress took the decision at the end of a jointly held National Executive Council meeting.
Recall that National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) announced the hike in the electricity tariff for Band A customers at a press briefing in Abuja on April 3, revealing that those affected would pay N225 per kilowatt-hour, up from the previous rate of N68/kWh, a development which marked the removal of subsidy from the tariff of customers in the Band A category, who constituted about 15 per cent of the total 12.82 million power consumers across the country.
Labour stated, “The NEC once again vehemently condemns the unilateral increase in electricity tariff by the authorities. This action, taken without due consideration for the economic hardships faced by the masses and the provisions of the Law, is deemed unjust and burdensome.
“The NEC reaffirms its demands for an immediate reversal of the tariff hike and the vexatious apartheid categorization into Bands to alleviate the suffering of Nigerian workers and citizens and gives the National Electricity Regulatory Commission and the federal government until the last day of May 2024 to meet these demands,” their statement at the end of the meeting stated.
Recall that the Organized Labour and its affiliates recently grounded offices of the NERC nationwide over the recent hike in electricity tariffs.
