The debate around the increase in electricity prices last month is still very much alive because on Monday, Nigerian workers stopped power sector operations, asking that the increase be reversed.

According to reports, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, or NERC, as well as all eleven Energy Distribution Companies’ headquarters were picketed by organized labor.

The NLC president, Joe Ajaero, led the protest in Abuja, leading it to the Ministry of Power and the NERC offices.

The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company closed its offices as well since employees were unable to return.

In a same manner, they picked up the eleven discos’ offices in Sokoto, Lagos, Kaduna, Plateau, Enugu, and Kwara, among other places in the nation.

Ajaero stated that NERC ought to reevaluate its process for raising tariffs in the electrical industry while the picketing was taking place.

He pointed out that the country’s skyrocketing prices and food inflation, which stood at 33.20 percent and 40.01 percent in March, are mostly the result of the tariff hike.

The Nigerian government recently stated that it is prepared to engage in negotiations with organized labor in response to the labor unions’ one-day demonstration.

After workers disrupted Ministry of Power operations, Mrs. Florence Eke, a spokesman for the Ministry of Power, told DAILY POST over the phone that the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Mamman Mahmuda, of the Federal Government had called a consultative meeting with stakeholders and organized labor for the following week to discuss the situation.

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“The Ministry has asserted that its responsibility is to make policy while agencies, in this case, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, and other agencies implement it.

“The Ministry will invite all stakeholders for a proper consultation by next week,” she said.

Benson Upah, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Labour Congress, informed the Daily Post that prior to enacting the energy pricing hike on April 3, the government was required to have consultations.

He issued a warning, saying that if the Nigerian government did not stop the pricing hike, the picketing would only be a taste of what was to come.

“They were supposed to do a consultation before the tariff hike. What happened today is a teaser to what will come if the Government does nothing,” he said.

Remember that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission declared in April 2024 that Band A customers receiving 20–24 hours of power would see a 240% increase in electricity tariffs.

Customers in band A now pay N225 kWh instead of N68 kWh as a result of the hike.

The Nigerian government justified the increase by claiming in various forums that it would save the nation N1.5 trillion and that just 15% of the 12.8 million energy users would be impacted.

A recent announcement of a slight reduction of N18.2 was made in response to Nigerians’ rejection of the raise.

But as demonstrated by the workers’ picketing of NERC and Discos, organized labor is not happy with the government’s small tariff cut.

In response to the news, Ewetumo A. A., a retired employee of the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), formerly known as the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), stated that the organized labor picketing was long overdue.

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“Regrettably, today’s picketing action by the NLC and TUC is belated and long overdue.

“The April 3, 2024, tariff increase, though only on Band A consumers, is having a ripple and multiplier effect on the economy.

“The inflationary trend in the country is alarming and worrisome.

“This present increase can only make it worse.

“NERC must adopt a more pragmatic and gradual three-step review approach to implementing its Cost Reflective Tariff Regime without unsettling the economy.

“Ultimately, the power sector needs a massive infusion of capital to build new power plants and refurbish the ageing old network.

“The Federal government is advised to explore a Public Private Partnership initiative to fund the power sector, incorporate the various states into blocks of regions to undertake a total transformation of the Power Sector”, he told DAILY POST.

In the wake of the news that Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, adopts the policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, Joe Ajaero, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has publicly declared that the labor union will dismiss Obi.

During a Tuesday interview that was filmed by DAILY POST and broadcast on Channels Television, Ajaero made this claim.

Ajaero, who called the NLC’s stance on the elimination of the power and gasoline subsidies “fixated,” also said that the labor union would face difficult challenges from any Labour Party president who carried out the IMF’s plans.

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The President of the NLC stated,

 “He (Obi) is the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, but does he own the NLC or the Labour Party? Why can’t you separate them?

“Whoever is the presidential candidate or official of the Labour Party must buy into our projects. If he says he was going to undertake those policies, let him be elected and try such policies.

“Whether a presidential candidate of a party that Labour forms would dictate for Labour? The answer is known to everybody. The policies of Labour, the ideologies of Labour are clear and we are going to pursue it.”

Remember that on April 3, 2024, NERC increased the price of electricity for consumers who receive 20 hours of power per day.

Customers now pay N225 kilowatts per hour instead of the usual N66, a development that has drawn condemnation from a large number of Nigerians.

The NLC and the Trade Union Congress, or TUC, subsequently picketed NERC offices and discos on Monday to emphasize their demands, as previously reported.

However, Ajaero resisted the “politics of reduction” that NERC had recently adopted.

He insisted that NERC and discos must first reverse the tariff to the previous rates and sit down to negotiate with labor unions and other stakeholders on a mutually agreeable course of action. He warned that reductions after tariff increases will not stand.

To demand that the increase in electricity prices be reversed, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have closed all Abuja Electricity Distribution Company offices.

According to information obtained, AEDC employees who returned to work on Monday were denied entry into their offices by the NLC.

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Recall that Nigerian workers promised to shut down the offices of the 11 Discos Nationwide and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission in a joint notice signed by Acting Secretary-General Chris Uyot of the NLC and Acting Secretary-General Ankan Hassan of the TUC.

The April 3 energy pricing for band A users was supposed to be reversed to N225 per Kilowatt-hour from N68 kwh, as demanded by Nigerian labor unions.

However, NERC announced a small pricing cut to N206 kwh, ignoring the NLC and TUC reversal appeal.

Organized labor, disgruntled with the tariff cut, threatened to close NERC offices and discos in order to demand their demands.

This incident occurs at a time when Nigerians are dealing with the fallout from skyrocketing headline and food inflation, which in March 2024 stood at 33.20 percent and 40.01 percent, respectively.