The Ministry of Power’s attempts to raise the price of power have been met with resistance by the Senate.
The Senate, mindful of the current state of affairs in the nation, also rejected attempts to eliminate electricity subsidies.
The Senate’s resolution came after it had considered and approved a motion made in plenary by Senator Aminu Abbas (PDP, Adamawa Central) regarding the necessity of keeping the nation’s electricity subsidies in place for the foreseeable future.
At a news conference in Abuja last week, Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, revealed that the country was unlikely to continue receiving the existing electricity subsidies.
He clarified that the nation’s power industry was now over N3 trillion in debt to gas and electricity producing businesses.
“We owe the power generating companies a total of N1.3tn today, of which 60% is owed to gas suppliers,” he stated. Prior to 2014, we owed the gas companies $1.3 billion, or over N2 trillion at the current exchange rate.
Yemi Adraamodu, the spokesperson for the Senate, stated on sunday, that the body would not permit an increase in the cost of energy that would worsen the situation for Nigerians as the minister is not the only voice on these matters, though, as we must acknowledge.