Tinubu’s government threatens Nigerians to accept electricity tariff hike or face total blackout

“So, for us to attract investors and investment, we must make the sector attractive, and the only way it can be made attractive is that there must be commercial pricing.

“If the value is still at N66 and the government is not paying subsidy, the investors will not come. But now that we have increased the tariff for A Band, there are interests being shown by investors,” he said.

Adelabu said the inability of the government to pay outstanding N2.9 trillion subsidy was due to limited resources, hence the need to evolve measures to sustain the sector.

He appealed to the lawmakers to support the process of paying the debt owed operators across the value chain of generation, transmission and distribution.

But the Senate Committee on Power, led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, expressed concerns over the suffering of Nigerians, and asked the minister and other key players in the sector to explore other options.

Senators Simon Lalong (Plateau South) and Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central), said consultations were not made before the tariff increase, stressing palliative would have been provided in the process.

Abaribe, who is Chairman of the Committee said, “What Nigerians wanted was a solution to the issues and ways to ensure liquidity in the sector.”