Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana said the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu has failed Nigerians over failure to deliver a constant supply of electricity despite increasing tariffs.
Falana stated this in an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday.
The senior lawyer described power policy as “the illegality of tariffs,” adding that the federal government and Adelabu could not defend the hike
Recall that the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had increased the tariff paid by Band A customers from N68/KWh to N225/kWh.
NERC also said Band A customers are expected to receive between 20-24 hours of electricity supply daily while the subscribers under Band B enjoy 16 to 20 hours of power supply and those in Band C receive 12 to 16 hours daily.
Speaking on the power issue, Falana said the hike was imposed on the Nigerian government by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
He said, “The Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu has failed to address the question of the illegality of the tariffs.
“Section 116 of the Electricity Act 2023 provides that before an increase can be approved and announced, there has to be a public hearing conducted based on the request of the Discos to have an increase in the electricity tariffs. That was not done.
“Secondly, neither the minister nor the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission has explained why the impunity that characterised the increase can be allowed.”
The renowned lawyer also expressed concern over what he described as impunity on the part of the FG and NERC, stressing their actions were not backed by laws.