Renowned human rights lawyer Femi Falana has warned the Nigerian government sternly, threatening legal action over the recent drastic increase in electricity tariffs, which has left consumers reeling from exorbitant bills.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Falana condemned the plan by the federal government, through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to extend the electricity tariff hike to consumers in other bands beyond ‘Band A’.
He argued that such an increase cannot be justified under the Electricity Act of 2023 and pledged to seek redress for affected Nigerians in court.
Falana declared the electricity subsidy non-existent and alleged that the government was trying to raise funds for cash-strapped Discos.
He said: “Under that law, there are certain steps to take, and we are going to embark on those steps tomorrow (today), which is to raise serious objections with respect to the impunity that has characterised the recent increase.
“At the appropriate time, if there is no response, we will have to go to court because the government had warned,
the minister had warned that the increase this time around will only fetch the government or the discos N1.6 trillion, whereas the destination is N3 trillion.
“So, the poor people that the minister is talking about, the other bands, very soon, the government is going to extend the increases to them so that the N1.4 trillion the minister is talking about will be recovered.
“They are increasing tariffs to assist the cash-strapped Discos, the majority of which have now been taken over by the banks and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), and the banks and AMCON have no competence to run electricity companies.”
He also knocked the government for being insensitive to the plight of Nigerians still grappling with the economic impact of petrol subsidy removal and the collapse of the foreign exchange windows.
