..condemns Bands A, B electricity and government’s spending on sector
*Says Nigerians pay more for services not rendered
By Olawale Lamina
Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Femi Falana, has criticized what he described as outright electricity tariff hikes by electricity distribution companies, arguing insisting that such increases must be supported by visible and measurable improvements in power supply to consumers as required by law.
Falana who spoke on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme Friday, condemned both administrations led by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the past and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC in the manner the power sector was managed
According to him, in the face of the privatisation of 18 electricity companies, the government continues to inject trillions of naira into the power sector without a significant benefit to consumers.
He said: “Somebody sold 18 electricity companies, according to a former minister under the Jonathan administration, and Dr. Usman Shamsudeen, that we sold the electricity companies to our friends.”
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has opposed outright electricity tariff increases by power distribution companies, insisting that such hikes must be backed by measurable improvements in power supply as required by law.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Friday, Falana criticised successive PDP and APC administrations over the handling of the power sector.
He noted that despite the privatisation of 18 electricity companies, the government continues to inject trillions of naira into the sector with little visible benefit to consumers.
“Somebody sold 18 electricity companies, according to a former minister under the Jonathan administration, and Dr. Usman Shamsudeen, that we sold the electricity companies to our friends,” Falana stated.
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has opposed outright electricity tariff increases by power distribution companies, insisting that such hikes must be backed by measurable improvements in power supply as required by law.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Friday, Falana criticised successive PDP and APC administrations over the handling of the power sector.
He noted that despite the privatisation of 18 electricity companies, the government continues to inject trillions of naira into the sector with little visible benefit to consumers.
The human rights lawyer said: “Somebody sold 18 electricity companies, according to a former minister under the Jonathan administration, and Dr. Usman Shamsudeen, that we sold the electricity companies to our friends.
“Now, the government has been giving again a lot of trillions of naira to the electricity companies. At the end of the day, you hear of Band A, Band B, and the rest of them.”
He highlighted the ongoing hardship faced by Nigerians, who, he said, are “paying more for services that are not rendered.”
Going forward, Falana cautioned that electricity companies planning fresh tariff increases must provide justification based on the provisions under the Electricity Act.
“Again, this time around, you will have to justify. Because under the law, under the Electricity Act, you can only increase your tariff if there is improvement in services. So if the situation is getting worse, there can be no justification for an increase in tariffs,” he declared.
Falana’s remarks came against the backdrop of consumers challenge with erratic power supply, frequent outages and poor service quality despite previous tariff increases.
The introduction of bands A and B services by the electricity distribution companies, Discos, has been laced with unmet expectations as customers promised up to 20 hours of electricity supply are yet to come to terms with the reality of service improvement as it affects household and business uses.
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