*Says Electricity Tariff Hike Pushes Up Inflation

THE President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, has said that the Labour movement would have disowned the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in last year’s general elections, Mr. Peter Obi, if he had adopted the policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank as Nigeria’s President. 

Speaking on a television programme on Monday, May 13, Ajaero, described the position of the NLC on the removal of petrol subsidy and electricity subsidy as “fixated,” saying the labour movement would have it tough with any LP president that implements the policies of Bretton Woods institutions, which support the removal of subsidies on electricity tariff and petrol.

“He (Obi) is the presidential candidate of Labour Party, but does he own NLC or the Labour Party? Why can’t you separate them? Whosoever is the presidential candidate or official of the Labour Party must buy into our projects. If he says he was going to undertake those policies, let him be elected and try such policies.

“On whether a presidential candidate of a party that Labour forms would dictate for Labour? The answer is known to everybody. The policies of Labour, the ideologies of Labour are clear and we are going to pursue them. If anybody is coming with another ideology, he is going to have it tough with us, because that is not what we stand for.

“It (our approach) would have been worst for anybody flying the flag of Labour Party to come and implement these policies, to come and adopt the policies of the IMF and the World Bank. It would have been worst for the person.

“In fact, we would disown the person; he would be on his own. We have to make this distinction clear.”

     Ajaero said electricity tariff hike pushes up inflation, insisting that the recent increase by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and distribution companies (DisCos) in the country must be immediately reversed, adding: “Unknown to people, this issue of tariff increase is determined by inflation and the value of the currency.

“NERC takes these two major variables to determine tariff increase. Unknown to the same NERC, each time you increase tariff, it leads to another inflation, which within few months, they would see demand for another tariff increase. And this is happening on and on and there is no control over it.”

On April 3, 2024, NERC raised electricity tariff for customers on Band A (enjoying 20 hours power supply daily).

Following the outrage that followed, NERC asked DisCos to minimally reduce the tariff rate by 8.1% for customers under Band A, a development that has not led to any let off of public anger, with many Nigerians rejecting the reduction and demanding a total reversal of the hike.

The NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Monday, May 13, picketed NERC offices and DisCos to press home their demands, with Ajaero kicking against NERC’s “politics of reduction,” insisting that reduction after tariff increase won’t stand and that NERC and Discos must first reverse the tariff to the old rates and come to the negotiation table with Labour and other stakeholders on an agreeable way forward.