SERAP Drags Tinubu To Court Over Arbitrary Increase In Electricity Tariff

SERAP has dragged President Tinubu to court over the arbitrary increase in electricity tariff amidst nationwide darkness, hunger and starvation in Nigeria.

 

NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has announced plans to sue the government of President Bola Tinubu over the increase in the price of electricity tariff.

 

This Nigeria news platform had earlier reported that the Tinubu government raised the kilowatt price of tariff from about N68 to N225 per kilowatt.

The Vice Chairman of NERC, Musiliu Oseni, made this known in Abuja on Wednesday.

 

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Power distribution companies (DisCos) will be allowed to raise electricity prices to N225 ($0.15) per kilowatt-hour from N68 for urban consumers this month effectively from April 1, 2024.

Oseni disclosed that the rate increase will only affect 15 percent of the country’s electricity customers.

 

According to the NERC boss, these customers, who represent 15 percent of the population, also consume 40 percent of the nation’s electricity.

 

However, responding to the development, SERAP, in a post via its official X account, asked the President Tinubu-led government to reverse the ‘unlawful’ tariff increase.

The right group urged the president to reverse the increase pending the hearing of the suit it instituted against the increase.

 

The group wrote, “We’re suing the Tinubu administration over the arbitrary increase in electricity tariff from N66 to N225 despite the difficult economic realities in the country, and the pending lawsuit on the matter.

 

“The Tinubu administration must reverse the apparently unlawful increase in electricity tariff from N66 to N225 pending the hearing and determination of the suit we filed on the matter, to protect the integrity of the judicial process and the rule of law.”