Nigeria: Government Without Human Face?

 By Casmir Igbokwe

Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose’s brother trended on the social media recently. The outrageous amount of money he pays as electricity tariff every week was the crux of the matter. Some Nigerians apparently thought he was joking in the video where he claimed his weekly electricity bill was N100,000. And this is for three rooms. He said he used to spend this N100,000 in one month.

*Tinubu

Fayose is not alone. All electricity consumers on Band A category are feeling the same pinch. Simply put, what they used to spend on electricity in one month is now spent in one week. What happened was that the Federal Government increased electricity tariff for these Band A customers on April 3, 2024. From N68 per kilowatt-hour, the tariff went up to N225 per kWh, an increase of over 200 per cent. These B and A customers reportedly have electricity at least 20 hours in a day. Customers on Band B, C, D and E do not have to worry about the increase in tariff for now as they are not affected in this pilot phase. The plan is to co-opt them into the tariff-hike prison within a period of three years. 

Electricity: Unending Rip-Off Of Customers By Distribution Companies!

By Godwin Ijediogor

Some may call it cheating, while others may see it as smart billing but it is nothing less than fraud. The system of billing some electricity consumers, otherwise known as estimated billing, adopted by the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in Nigeria, is a clear case of extortion of consumers without metres, whether prepaid or the old order. Ironically, the DisCos are unconcerned and unrepentant, instead they are passing the buck concerning metering to customers. Imagine living in a compound with four three-bedroom flats and while three metred three flats get billed about N2, 500 each, the remaining one is slammed N10, 000 estimated bill, just for one month, by Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC).

Yet, the DisCos are reluctant to provide prepaid meters or at least minimise the incidence of over billing or crazy bills; just promises and no action.  And the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), Adeoye Fadeyibi, tried to justify the action of the DisCos while speaking at a town hall with residents of Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos (its customers), saying the ‘crazy bill’ was because distribution companies take the reading of electricity consumption of customers who are not metered directly from the transformer.