Emeka C. Kalu, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, has tackled the Federal Government over the planned increase in electricity tariff, saying the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has lost all ideas to govern the people and provide them with democracy dividends.
Kalu, Director-General (DG), Protocols, Peoples Democratic Party Youth Alliance (PDPYA), in a statement made available to NEXT EDITION on Thursday, noted that government’s plans to hike electricity tariff had been greeted with criticisms, stressing that it portrayed the Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) administration as insensitive to the plight of the masses, who he added, had been languishing in penury.
He maintained that the hike would further impoverish the people, as the power distribution companies would only compound the woes of Nigerians by enriching themselves, instead of thinking how to improve their services.
Kalu, also Director General, Global Initiative for Good Governance, described the hike as APC’s ‘New Year Greek Gift’, saying the hike lacked any basis as the people had not been getting services they had been paying for over the years.
He lamented: “The only thing the present administration can offer to the masses is pain, pain and more pain. It is no news that the bane of Nigeria’s economic backwardness is the epileptic power supply, among other negative factors the government has failed to tackle.
READ ALSO: PDP Hails Supreme Court’s Ruling On Abia, Delta, Taraba Elections
“One wonders why a government that has done nothing to improve the economy, by increasing power available to the people will wake of one day and decide to increase the consumption tariffs, even when the availability of the service has nosedived under it, so badly that we have lost more power that we have generated in six years interval. So, what is actually precipitating the increase in price?
“It is wicked and sinister that while the N30,000 minimum wage is yet to be implemented across board, the FG has already introduced a means to take it back from the people, a sign that there is grand design to ensure that Nigerians’ life will never improve because few people said so.
“I am calling on every well-meaning Nigerians and lovers of good thing to stand against this miscalculated step on the part of the FG in their effort to enrich DISCOs, while impoverishing the people. At any point there is increase in availability of power to such a level that people can get value for what they pay for, we may begin to discuss increase.
“The FG cannot continue to take the people for a ride because they increased fuel pump price we said nothing, it has now become a norm to increase anything they wish at any point they so wish. This is unacceptable.”
According to him, “The FG should first and foremost work hard to improve on power supply around Nigeria, provide meters to avoid the usual extortion through estimated bills before even considering increased tariff, because, I believe that the problem of Nigeria is not bill payment. The problem is getting services for the bills paid for.
“The solution to Nigeria’s economy is putting the right things in place. Exploiting and punishing the masses will not solve the myriad problems. Rather, robust economic plans and execution is the solution to these problems and not punishing the masses.”
