Mohammed Shosanya
The Nigeria Consumer Protection Network,says electricity tariff surged by about 500percent under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
President of the group,Kunle Kola Olubiyo,who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday,lamented that consumers paid huge tariff between 2015 and 2023 without a corresponding increase in power generation, electricity transmission and distribution vis the national electricity grid.
During the period in view,Olubiyo said there were largely pronounced failures of regulatory institutions in charge of enforcement of market rules,operational extant rules and general failure of enforcement of regulatory framework ..
He added:”Also pronounced were cases of poor leadership recruitment characterised by exclusion of highly competent professionals , policy misalignments and poor coordination.There weren’t consequences for infractions,,impunity poor market settlement culture and no clear cut direction on desires to closed the increasingly expanding metering gaps.
“The failure of the power sector in maximizing the inherent potentials of the sector was largely due to failure of institutions and over bearing political interferences in the day to day business and operations of the sector resulting in a decline in power supply
to Nigerians in the most unprecedented and embarrassing manners “.
He said,currently small scale businesses spending on provision of electricity is
about 40% of their total overall daily expenditure used in providing electricity to the industries through alternative sources of energy .
To him,electricity is a major enabler for job creations, industrialisation, sustainable growth and development in the world.
He implored President Bola Tinubu to review the entire gamut of the power sector privatisation in its present state,which he said has failed to achieve desired results inspite of huge investments .
He added:”The need for the current administration to get it right with Nigerian electricity sector can not be over emphasized”.
