The recent disclosure by Alhaji Immamudeen Talba, the
Administrator of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory
Commission (NERC) that the Federal Government would remove
subsidy on electricity tariffs by 2012 is not only a source
of worry to the masses but also amount to a conspiracy to
inflict pains on the citizenry. Obviously, the removal of
the subsidy will increase the price of electricity on
consumption. The contemplated adjustment of power prices in
line with market – orientated mechanism is unnecessary at
this critical moment of our nation’s history.
The claim by Alhaji Talba that in 2009 alone government
spent 177 billion naira on electricity subsidy has not in
any way lend credence to the proposed policy regime.
Arguably, the implication of the plan of the government, if
it succeeds is that by 2012, the electricity consumers would
be paying 11 naira per kilowatts of electricity, being the
full cost of commodity instead of the 6 naira per kilowatts
currently being charged.
While trying to justify the proposed plan to increase the
prices of electricity, the Federal Government assured the
citizens that even when consumers begin to pay 11 naira per
kilowatts, the tariff will still be the cheapest in the
African continent. What government fails to realize is that
the purchasing power of the currency, per capital income and
the high rate of unemployment of the citizens are social
realities that would turn the removal of subsidy to national
burden.
The pronouncement of the government plan to remove the
energy subsidy was ill-timed and wrongly-conceived. This is
because the popular agitation is that the government should
declare emergency in the power sector. Instead of government
to reflect on the reasons for its failure to fulfill the
promise of generating 6,000 power megawatts by the end of
December 2009, the vultures at the helms of affair are
desperate to increase the price of electricity on
consumption.
In deed, if Talba’s pronouncement is anything to go by, it
gives the picture that Nigeria is being governed by leaders
who are insensitive to the plights and feelings of the
populace. One important thing is that the proposal is yet to
be presented to the National Assembly for approval. With
this in mind, I will like to implore the Acting President,
Dr. Goodluck Jonathan to allow the status quo to remain even
if the idea is muted by Yaradua’s.
Another striking point is that Nigeria as a nation of about
140 million people was said to be generating a miserable
2,700 megawatts of electricity, resulting into near or total
darkness of most homes, institutions and businesses across
the nation. Of course, the chronic power shortages and
regular outages consequent upon poor power generation,
distribution and supply by the government as remained a
major cause of the increase in unemployment and crime rate
in Nigeria . The situation is more worrisome in the rural
communities where they hardly enjoy electricity supply
despite the government substantial investment and budgetary
allocation for rural electrification projects by successive
administrations in Nigeria .
It is also worthy of note that the current predicament of
the manufacturing industry is caused by poor electricity
supply as many of the blue-chip companies are in a state of
inertia while some have even shut their factories and
relocated to the neighbouring countries. No doubt, the cost
of doing business is unbearable in Nigeria due to the
challenge of energy generation and supply for both private
and industrial uses.
More critically is the problem posed by poor management of
funds generated from previous attempts to deregulate the
petroleum sector of the Nigeria economy to justify the
government stance. People are still groaning that the funds
generated by the removal of subsidy in the past have not
been used judiciously because the nation’s infrastructure
that successive government said would be rehabilitated are
still visibly dilapidated. It is suffice to state that what
Nigerians expect from the Acting President Jonathan is
declaration of government concrete plans to increase power
generation far beyond the 6,000 megawatts promised by
President Umar Yar’Adua.
Of equal importance is the challenge of poor distribution
network. What is actually required is overhauling of the
power and energy distribution networks to ensure efficient
delivery of electricity to the consumers. If the contents of
the power sector reforms include the plan to remove the
subsidy, it seems reasonable to discard it forthwith in the
best interest of the nation. Yes, it is only when the sector
is being efficiently run that the question of the removal of
electricity subsidy could be raised.
Apart from the problem of poor electricity supply, the
corrupt staffs of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)
are forcing innocent consumers to pay exorbitant bills. It
is disheartening that even with the installation of the
pre-paid meters across the nation, the consumers are still
burdened and constraint by payment of crazy bills either as
a result of staff incompetence or conscious efforts to
exploit the consumers by coaxing from their light purses.
Onike Rahaman
Onike writes from Oyo town, oyo state, Nigeria
Public affairs analyst.
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Published
February, 21st, 2010
