Ex-Vice President Atiku tackles FG for hiking electricity tariff amidst economic hardship
By Samuel Luka, Bauchi
Former Vice President and the 2023 Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has lamented that the recent hike in Electricity tariff will further throw Nigerian masses into untold hardship.
Atiku who stated this in a post on his Facebook page on Saturday, accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of running economic reforms without human face.
“As usual, the government is unleashing another dose of reforms without adequate notice and without an adequate post-reform plan to mitigate the pain”, the Ex-Vice President said.
According to him, the increase in electricity tariff came at a time Nigerian citizens are going through excruciating difficulties occasioned by the withdrawal of subsidy on PMS and floating of the domestic currency.
He regretted that the increase in the tariff is coming at a time Tinubu led federal government has not successfully dealt with the pains associated with the implementation of those measures.
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar insisted that the hike in electricity tariff will create more difficulties for the citizens as inflationary pressures are elevated.
He stressed that the manufacturing sector in the country will similarly be impacted negatively because they are not only paying higher interest rates on their bank loans but also paying more for diesel in addition to paying higher wages as a result of the new minimum wage.
“The President’s men are pushing the economy into a deeper crisis. His reforms are without a human face”, he said.
The former Vice President said, “it is important that we understand the root cause of the inefficiencies in the power sector before unleashing another dose of reforms”.
Atiku suggested that it was high time for the federal government to revisit the privatization exercise that produced the DISCOs.
“Tinubu must (a) ensure that these reforms are sequenced, (b) implement measures to mitigate the pain, and (c) hold the NERC responsible for ensuring improved service delivery”, he further suggested.
