Consumers protest as FG hikes electricity meters price by 40%
Written by Adeola Ibrahim on September 7, 2023
The Federal Government, on Wednesday, announced an increase in the prices of single-phase and three-phase pre-paid electricity meters, and declared that the hike takes effect from September 6, 2023.
It announced this in an order released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission with number, NERC/2023/020, and jointly signed by the commission’s Chairman, Sanusi Garba, and its Commissioner, Legal, Licencing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye.
In the order, the government stated that a single-phase meter would now cost N81,975.16k from the previous price of N58,661.69k, while the price of a three-phase meter was raised to N143,836.10k from N109,684.36k.
This was, however, kicked against by power consumers, who wondered why the Federal Government had continued to hike the cost of various commodities in Nigeria’s energy sector.
Also, Atiku’s Lead Counsel, Chris Uche, SAN, said he had received instructions from his client to file an appeal at the Supreme Court.
He said “The judgment has been delivered but we have not received justice. Luckily, the law has given us leverage to go on appeal to the Supreme Court. We have instructions from our clients to go to the Supreme Court. The struggle continues.”
The PEPT, which began sitting at 9.40 a.m. at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, ruled that the petition filed by Atiku and Obi, and their parties had no merit and unanimously upheld Tinubu’s electoral victory in the February 25 presidential election.
The five-member panel took turns to dismiss the petitions presented by Atiku and Obi against the declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election by the Independent National Electoral Commission on March 1, 2023.
The judgment was delivered by the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, assisted by other members of the panel-Justices Stephen Adah, Monsurat Bolaji-Yusuf, Moses Ugo and Abba Mohammed
Not satisfied by the ruling, Atiku, who is a former Vice President, alongside the PDP’s Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Damagun, said they will be addressing a world press on the development.
The conference billed to hold at the NEC Hall, located on the ground floor of the PDP National Headquarters, will start by 2:30 pm
The invite sent to journalists by the party’s National Director of Publicity read, “Hello Gentlemen of the Press, good evening.
“This is to invite you to a press briefing to be addressed by the Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagun and PDP Presidential Candidate, H.E. Atiku Abubakar, GCON.”
