Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, on Friday, faulted the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration over the hike in electricity tariff.
On Wednesday, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved an increase in electricity tariff for customers under the Band A classifications.
According to the Commissionel, customers who receive 20 hours of electricity supply daily will pay N225 per kilowatt (kW) from April 3.
The new rate, which is about triple the current rate of N66 per kilowatt (kW), comes amid the economic hardship and inflation Nigerians are faced with.
In a Friday statement, he said there was no consultation by the government before the electricity tariff was increased.
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, said the hike in the electricity tariff will worsen the economic hardship the citizens are facing.
“As usual, the government is unleashing another dose of reforms without adequate notice and without an adequate post-reform plan to mitigate the pain.
READ ALSO: ‘This is Just The Beginnig, More Electricity Tariff Hike Brewing’ — FG To Nigerians
“The increase in electricity tariff comes at a time when Nigerian citizens are going through excruciating difficulties occasioned by the withdrawal of subsidy on PMS and floating of the domestic currency.
“The government has not successfully dealt with the pains associated with the implementation of those measures, and now this.
“The hike in electricity tariff will create more difficulties for the citizens as inflationary pressures are elevated.
“Our manufacturing sector will similarly be impacted negatively. Not only are they paying higher interest rates on their bank loans but also paying more for diesel, paying higher wages as a result of the new minimum wage,” the statement read.
He furthered that Tinubu’s government is “pushing the economy into a deeper crisis,” adding that “His reforms are without a human face.”
The government, he advised, should investigate the “root cause” of the inefficiencies in the power sector before “unleashing another dose of reforms.”
