Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has opposed outright electricity tariff increases by power distribution companies, insisting that such hikes must be backed by measurable improvements in power supply as required by law.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Friday, Falana criticised successive PDP and APC administrations over the handling of the power sector.
He noted that despite the privatisation of 18 electricity companies, the government continues to inject trillions of naira into the sector with little visible benefit to consumers.
“Somebody sold 18 electricity companies, according to a former minister under the Jonathan administration, and Dr. Usman Shamsudeen, that we sold the electricity companies to our friends,” Falana stated.
“Now, the government has been giving again a lot of trillions of naira to the electricity companies. At the end of the day, you hear of Band A, Band B, and the rest of them.”
He highlighted the ongoing hardship faced by Nigerians, who, he said, are “paying more for services that are not rendered.”
Falana warned that electricity companies planning fresh tariff increases must provide justification under the Electricity Act.
“Again, this time around, you will have to justify. Because under the law, under the Electricity Act, you can only increase your tariff if there is improvement in services. So if the situation is getting worse, there can be no justification for an increase in tariffs,” he declared.
The SAN’s remarks come as many consumers continue to experience erratic supply, frequent outages and poor service quality despite previous tariff hikes.
Nigeria’s privatised power sector has long been plagued by challenges, including inadequate generation capacity, high technical and commercial losses, and heavy reliance on government bailouts.
The introduction of service bands such as Band A, for customers reportedly enjoying up to 20 hours of electricity supply, has been criticised for failing to deliver promised improvements for the majority of households and businesses.
