Electricity Tariff: APC NWC boss, Duru, condemns exploitation of Nigerians by service providers

The Deputy National Organizing Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nze Chidi Duru, has condemned the exploitation of Nigerians by electricity suppliers in the country.

Duru, while speaking to reporters in Abuja, noted that it is unfortunate that electricity consumers have to go to great lengths to purchase transformers, cables, poles and other electrical materials with their hard-earned money.

Calling on the federal government to review the concession agreement with electricity suppliers, he said the investment highlighted the fact that they had failed to live up to their expectations.

The Anambra-born politician, who was reacting to the recent increase in electricity tariffs, noted that the inability of service providers to improve their services over the past 15 years is indicative of their unworthiness and continued exploitation of Nigerians.

The former House of Representatives member particularly slammed the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for not doing enough to address the situation.

To support his thesis, he referred to the improvement in the quality of services in the telecommunications sector compared to the energy sector.

According to him: “If regulators, like NERC, did their job, they would result in accounting for operators in the energy segment, especially in the value chain, and not in the continuous imposition of obligations on citizens through no fault of theirs apart from the improper granting of licenses to a very important part of the economy, which is energy sector in Nigeria.

“It has been sold to people with little or no experience, our national heritage has been handed over to them and instead of investing in this sector, they see it as a way not only to make money but also to undermine the country and the people of Nigeria. This relentless increase in tariffs will continue indefinitely if nothing is done to ensure that these people are held accountable for what needs to be done.

“In the 15 years since the concession was granted, we have not seen any improvement. If you compare this to what is happening in the telecommunications industry, where the government has made a deliberate effort to hire people who understand the industry, the government has made money, but specialists have been brought in to handle the various licenses.

“In the initial stages of NCC under Ndukwe, we saw a roadmap where it may be expensive at first, like buying a SIM card, but once they reach critical mass, the cost will come down. And even before the schedule was set, we noticed that it immediately started to decline.

“You will remember that we used to buy a SIM card for N35,000 or more but suddenly it became free because necessary investments have been made in this sector compared to what is currently happening in the energy sectors where the government continues to subsidize including loan money through CBN intervention, amounting to N3 trillion.

“In a privatized industry, the cost is not allocated to areas where residents live or where the business is conducted. The amount of energy you use should not depend on where you live.

“If for example I have a factory in Lugbe, Abuja and I produce 500 billion products, then I will be in Group C. But if I am unfortunate enough to have a factory in Asokoro or Maitana, then I will be charged N255 due to geographical location and I still produce less.

“This has never happened anywhere in the world. Only certification for residential, commercial and manufacturing buildings ensures that those who consume more electricity will have to pay for what they consume,” he noted.

He continued to argue: “Even without admitting that something like this could happen, there needs to be a change that encourages and creates confidence in the people of this country that they are being supplied with energy for 20 hours a day, which has never happened.

“So people are paying for blackout and inefficiency just because they have been flagged in an area. Go to Asokoro and find out if they have electricity for 20 hours a day. Yet they are being charged N255 inefficiencies and we have a regulator that, instead of demanding efficiency from the industry, colludes with them.

“This has unintended consequences for the government and the party. People are complaining about the difficulties and I am calling on the regulators to go to the NCC and find out what they have achieved. This is one of the rules that cannot be maintained.

Asked if he was demanding that the government review the concession plan, Duru angrily replied: “If it comes to that, of course. If they look at the terms of the contract signed by the government with the operators and if there is a sufficient reason why the government should take over the agencies, DisCo and GenCo. It should, because none of them fulfilled the obligations imposed on them by the contract.

“Otherwise why do Nigerians continue to buy transformers and cables, continue to supply themselves with electricity, continue to generate power from other sources and continue to consume diesel fuel in inappropriate quantities.

“Generators are selling more than before, and the amount of kilowatts of energy available in the country still hovers around 2,000-6,000 and never exceeds this value. Wasn’t this a reflection of the fact that there is not enough investment in this industry and that these operators do not understand the business?

“This indicates that their mandate is to impose hardship on the average Nigerian and there are ample grounds for doing so. It is a pity that this is happening at a time when the government is working very hard to tackle inflation and provide basic amenities to Nigerians and yet a government agency can impose such exorbitant fees and bills on the citizens of this country without any basis or experience.

“They did this without the requisite checks and balances on what should have been done in the first place. It doesn’t work on your sense of logic that something like this should even happen.