Senate urges FG to suspend planned electricity subsidy removal
The Senate on Wednesday, made a resounding plea to the Federal Government, urging it to refrain from eliminating the electricity subsidy, particularly in light of the prevailing hardships experienced across the country.
The Senate’s stance emerged following a thorough deliberation and subsequent endorsement of a motion during its plenary session on Wednesday, emphasizing the imperative of maintaining the electricity subsidy in Nigeria
The motion found its origin in the advocacy of Senator Aminu Iya Abbas (PDP), who represents the Adamawa Central zone.
It underscored the significance of retaining the subsidy on electricity as a crucial measure for alleviating the burdens faced by the populace.
The Federal Government had last week, through the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu announced the challenges in sustaining the electricity subsidy.
Adelabu, highlighting the pressing need for the country to transit towards a more economically sustainable tariff framework disclosed the substantial debts owed by the country, amounting to N1.3 trillion to electricity-generating companies and a $1.3 billion owed to gas companies.
In the wake of these developments, the Senate resolved to call for prudence and caution, urging careful consideration of the socioeconomic ramifications before any decision regarding the removal of the electricity subsidy is made.
The Legislature then agreed to probe a failed agreement that would have seen local manufacturers produce Prepaid Meters that would have been distributed across the nation to better electricity usage.
The Senate will also investigate the N2 trillion subsidy which the Minister of Power says would be required to avoid a repeat of the fuel subsidy scenario still bedevilling the nation’s economy.
The committee on power was later mandated to equally investigate the 1N.3 trillion owed by the ministry to generating companies and 1.3 billion dollars owed to gas companies.
The lawmakers also agreed that the Federal Government should engage the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to come up with lasting solution to the energy billing system in the country.
They also resolved to investigate the operations of electricity distribution companies, DISCOs to ascertain the current status of metering and their extent of compliance with relevant legal and regulatory frameworks in service delivery as well as the release of funds by the government for mass pre-paid metering.
