Members and leaders of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other affiliate labour unions in Lagos state are currently picketing the head office of Ikeja Electric today.
The action led to the shutdown of the company’s premises to any activities.
The reason for the industrial action according to members and leaders of the various labour unions present is the recent hike in electricity tariff by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) which is being implemented by electricity distribution companies across the country.
Speaking on the development, a labour leader, Francis Igbokwe from the Railway Workers Union stated that the reason for the protest was the over 200% hike in electricity tariff and further called on the relevant authorities to reverse the hike.
According to him, the classification of places according to bands is discriminatory and meant to divide Nigerians on the need to oppose the policy in unison.
He stated, “We are calling for a reversal of the increase in electricity tariff to the old tariff. That is what is manageable even though the power supply is not as promised.”
“The Band A, B and so on is used to discriminate. They don’t give anybody light in Nigeria that is the issue. They are using this to divide and rule so that you will say you are Band A, you will not join the struggle against what they are doing”
Nigerians’ income too low to support electricity tariff hike
Nairametrics was also informed that other members and leaders of the various Labour unions involved in the industrial action were carrying out similar activity at the office of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in Lagos.
Also, Francis Adeoye, a member of the Nigeria Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) lamented that no average Nigerian afford the current system of discriminatory electricity tariffs. He explained that the income of the average Nigerian is too low to afford an over 200% hike in electricity tariff.
Backstory
Earlier on Friday, Nairametrics reported that the National Labour Congress (NLC) ordered its members across the country to picket the offices of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the power distribution companies (DisCos) on Monday (today) due to the recent hike in electricity tariffs for Band A customers.
- In a letter dated May 7 and signed by the general secretary of the union, Chris Uyot, NLC directed all its state councils in the country to stage protests in the following offices.
- According to the statement, the nationwide protest is slated for Monday, May 13, 2024.
- Uyot noted that this is in sync with the directive of the Central Working Committee (CWC) of the union.
What you should know
In April, Nairametrics reported that NERC approved a hike in the electricity rates for consumers categorized under Band A.
This is contained in a press statement by the Vice Chairman of NERC Musliu Oseni.
- Oseni, the Vice Chairman of NERC, stated that the tariff hike would result in customers paying N225 per kilowatt hour, up from the existing N66.
- However, the commission last week confirmed the approval of an 8.1% electricity tariff rate cut for customers under the Band A category for all power distribution companies in the country (DisCos).
- The tariff cut from 225/kWh to 206.8/kWh, which represents approximately an 8.1% reduction, is attributed to the relative appreciation of the Naira in the official foreign exchange window.
- NERC said that the revision of the 2024 MYTO for Band A customers led to a reduction in tariffs for all discos.
