Yemisi Izuora
The Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) has strongly protested the rumoured plan by government to review upward the pump price of fuel as well as increase in electricity tariffs and pump price of petroleum products by the year 2016.
The CLO said that going by information available to it, if the plan of the government scales through, residential consumers’ tariffs will be augmented by 49.9 percent while those of the commercial consumers will be increased by 21 percent.
It said in similar vein, Nigerians will resume to buy a litre of petrol at the pump price of N97 against the present N87.
In a statement by its executive director, Ohabuenyi Ezike, the Organisation noted that the major reasons for the proposed increase in tariffs stems from the claim that prices of gas has risen, cost of distribution of the amenity to the consumers has increased as well as the depreciation of the Naira and rising operational costs.
Ohabuenyi also noted that other factors responsible for the proposed policy include shortfalls in energy generation and transmission crisis which affects supplies from the National Grid.
He said, “CLO is at loss as to why government that sold all our public property and utilities under the guise of privatization, in most cases, at give-away prices to associates and economic looters will be making cases for those buyers at least without even a look at the efficiency of the services of the providers and how the consumers are treated.
Nigeria between 1999 and date, has spent whopping trillions of Naira on this sector without any positive result. While those who plundered these funds smile to the banks , our society and its citizens suffer the ugly and inhuman consequences”.
The CLO stated that since the privatisation of the country’s electricity Distribution companies, nothing has changed, and noted that the issues of over billing, estimated billing even for those who have functional metres and inability of the Distribution companies to install pre-paid metres for consumers have become intractable.
“Above all, power is not supplied to Nigerians and this has occasioned protests among Nigerians across the country.
On the proposed return of Nigeria to the pump price of petrol from N87 to N97, CLO makes bold to say that the proposed action is absolutely anti-people and enjoins Nigerians to reject the increase” he said.
Ohabuenyi said that after a clinical review of the above proposed policies of the federal government, CLO came to the conclusion that the proposed increase in electric tariffs by the government is a ploy to victimize, suffer and traumatise the already impoverished Nigerian Masses and, therefore should be rejected.
He said, “In the alternative, CLO urges the government to condemn the distribution companies for their failure, inability and refusal supply consumers with the amenity, criminally over bill consumers, impose estimated billings on them and the non- installation of pre-paid metres for the consumers”.
According to him, government’s plan to reverse the pump price of petrol from the present exorbitant N87 to N97 is an abuse of the promise to abysmally reduce the pump price of petrol from N87 downwards during APC’s electioneering campaigns early this year.
CLO rejects the proposed conspiracy against the Nigerian people and enjoins Nigerians to rise against it.