You are insensitive, NANS blasts power minister over call for electricity tariff hike, asks him to resign

By Publisher

Kindly share:

The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has attacked the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, for calling on Nigerians to brace up for a fresh hike in electricity tariffs, asking him to resign.

The minister had on Monday said in a statement signed by Bolaji Tunji,

his media aide, the Federal Government can no longer sustain electricity subsidies, pointing out that it is currently owing power generating companies (GenCos) over N4 trillion in overdue subsidy payments.

However, reacting to the call, NANS described it as insensitive to the plight of ordinary Nigerians.

In a statement issued on Monday by Usman Adamu, the President of the Senate of NANS, expressed concern over Adelabu’s recurrent calls for tariff hike, while failing to address the genesis of the rot in the power sector.

“At a time when Nigerians are already gasping under the crushing weight of economic hardship, exacerbated by inflation, stagnant wages, and erratic power supply, it is not only insensitive but an outright dereliction of duty for the Honourable Minister to repeatedly prescribe tariff increments as the sole remedy for inefficiencies in the power sector,” Adamu.

“It is most unfortunate that a man entrusted with such a strategic national portfolio can reduce the complexities of our power woes to a monotonous refrain of ‘tariff increase.’.

“If the Honourable Minister’s only strategy for improving power delivery is to periodically hike tariffs, then his service is a tragic emblem of administrative inertia and cognitive bankruptcy.

“Governance demands ingenuity and not perfunctory fiscal adjustments that do nothing to improve supply but everything to deepen the woes of citizens.”

Adamu accused the minister of failing to carry out his oversight function in the power sector, which has made it possible for the DisCos to rip off Nigerians.

“It is particularly appalling that the Minister has failed in his fundamental obligation of oversight. Distribution Companies (DisCos), emboldened by weak regulation, have been robbing the Nigerian people blind with estimated billing, epileptic supply, and outright disregard for service-based obligations, he further said.

“Under Band C and D, consumers are promised a minimum threshold of daily electricity supply, yet these benchmarks are consistently violated without consequence.

“The silence and inaction of the Minister in the face of these daily infractions suggest either complicity or catastrophic negligence.

“Consequently, we are constrained to ask: what precisely is the Honourable Minister doing to reform the DisCos? What innovative blueprint has he advanced to stabilise and decentralise the national grid?

“What strategic interventions has he initiated to make renewable energy more accessible? None. Instead, we are bombarded with repetitive, anti-people pronouncements that suggest a complete disconnection from the realities of average Nigerians.”

Rather than seeking to increase the suffering of Nigerians through tariff hike, Adamu urged Adelabu to engineer bold, systemic reforms that would ensure transparency, reliability, and affordability in power distribution, warning that Nigerian students would not stand idly by while Adelabu’s ministry continues to impose economic torment on the people under the guise of “cost-reflective.

“We demand performance and innovation; results, not recycled excuses.

“Accordingly, if the Honourable Minister cannot fulfil the fundamental requirements of his office, he should do the honourable thing and resign, rather than continually proposing tariff increases as the only solution,” Adamu added.