In January 2015, the National Electric Regulatory Commission (NERC) increased electricity tariff by 100%. The increment started off immediately for commercial users but would wait till June before it will start for domestic users.
The news was greeted with dismay and disappointment by Nigerians who believed that the apex electricity regulatory body in the country should not be talking about increment of tariff, since they were not doing anything significant to improve power supply in the country.
Now, barely three months into the increment, the same NERC turned around and slashed the tariff by 50%.
It is not that Nigerians do not like the fact that the tariff had been slashed, but the question is: Will it be sustained? Is this not another political gimmick geared towards ensuring peoples’ votes? If the election is eventually won by the ruling, will continue to be like this or will it be increased again since it has done its job?
Even though the Chairman of NERC Dr Sam Amadi came out to say that the reason for the slash was as a result of collection loss which he termed ‘amount billed but not collected’ should not be paid by the consumers.
We know the real story behind the story. The slash was definitely political. Nigerians will definitely not be swayed by such deluding act. I hope the slash will not just benefit the consumers but also translate into more regular and sufficient power supply.
Nigerians know that this move is a political one. And in a bid to cajole people to get their votes, politicians often make promises that they had no intention of keeping, is this one of them? Can we put faith in it that it will be sustained after the election? These and many more questions are what Nigerians are seeking answers to.
We are only hoping that this is not another political promise, but even if it were, let it be one of those that will not be reversed after the election
