"My appeal again is that they should please not derail or distract our transformation plan for the industry," Mr Adelabu said
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has asked Nigeria's organised labour not to derail or distract the transformation plan for the country's electricity industry.
Mr Adelabu disclosed this while addressing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had on Monday picketed offices of power distribution companies (DisCos) in different parts of the country.
The action was to protest the recent increase in electricity tariffs approved by the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
Mr Adelabu said it is the right of labour to protest peacefully and to come up with their demands from the perspective they saw what the government did.
He said, "It is allowed, it is legitimate, and it is understandable. So we cannot stop them from organising a peaceful protest or laying down their demands.
"Let me make that clear. President Bola Tinubu's administration is also a listening government. We have heard demands, we're going to look at it, we'll make further engagements, and I believe we're going to reach a peaceful resolution with the labour because no government can succeed without cooperation, collaboration and partnership with the labour unions.
"So we welcome the peaceful protest, and I'm happy that it was not a violent protest. They've made their positions known, the government has taken in their demands, and we're looking at it.
"But one thing that I want to state here is from the statistics of those affected by the hike in tariff, the people on the road yesterday, who embarked on the peaceful protests, more than 95 per cent of them are not affected by the increase in the tariff of electricity," he said.
The minister explained that they still enjoy almost 70 per cent government subsidy in the tariff they pay because the average cost of generating, transmitting and distributing electricity is not less than N180 today.
"A lot of them are paying below N60, so they still enjoy the government's subsidy. So when they say we should reverse the recently increased tariff, sincerely, it's not affecting them. That's one position.
"My appeal again is that they should please not derail or distract our transformation plan for the industry. We have a documented reform roadmap to take us to our desired destination, where we're going to have reliable, functional, cost-effective and affordable electricity in Nigeria.
"It cannot be achieved overnight because this is a decay of almost 60 years, which we are trying to correct," he said.
Mr Adelabu said nobody promised or assured that the road would be smooth.
"We knew it's going to be rough, but we must weather the storm, which is going to be temporary. It's a lot of sacrifice from everybody: from the government's side, from the people's side, from the private sector side. So we must bear this sacrifice for us to have a permanent gain.
"I don't want us to go back to the situation we were in February and March, where we had very low generation. We all felt the impact of this whereby the electricity supply was very low, and every household, every company, and every institution felt it. From the little reform that we've embarked upon since the beginning of April, we have seen the impact that electricity has improved, and it can only get better.
"So I'm appealing to everybody that one should not toy with this that we have embarked upon; we are aiming somewhere, and we will achieve it," he said.
Background
Last month, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) ordered the immediate upward review of electricity tariffs.
The NERC Vice Chairman, Musiliu Oseni, said only 15 per cent of the electricity consumers are affected by the hike.
Accordingly, he said, power distribution companies (DisCos) will be allowed to raise electricity prices to N225 ($0.15) per kilowatt-hour from N68.
Since the announcement, the decision has attracted criticism from Nigerians.
On 30 April, the House of Representatives asked NERC to suspend the tariff hike pending an investigation by the House.
It also resolved to set up a special committee to probe the power sector.
The resolution followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Kama Nkem-Kanma (LP, Ebonyi) during plenary.
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Mr Nkem-Kanma, in his motion, faulted the arbitrary hike in the tariff and the discriminatory nature of the policy.
The lawmaker, therefore, called for an urgent intervention by the House to prevent the extortion of Nigerians by the electricity distribution companies.
"What is more concerning are the reports indicating discrepancies in customer categorisation and widespread complaints regarding inadequate service despite increased charges. This situation has not just sparked national anxiety, but it also threatens regulatory certainty and investor confidence in the sector, demanding immediate attention," the lawmaker told his colleagues at the time.
Mr Nkem-Kanma alleged that there was a failure of due process in approving the tariff hike.
Last Monday, Nigeria's electricity distribution companies (DisCos) announced the downward review of electricity tariffs for Band A customers.
Announcing the reduction, the distribution companies said customers in Band A will now pay N206.80/kwh from N225/kwh. The companies noted that the tariffs for Bands B, C, D, and E remain unchanged.
