Headlines
FG’s Hike in Electricity Tariff Insensitive, Unpopular, Will Attract Consequences – NLC
The Federal Government, on Friday, insisted on the 240 per cent hike in tariff payable by power consumers in the band ‘A’ category despite calls for its reversal.
It also revealed that the subsidised power pricing regime would be for the short term, with a transition plan to achieve a full cost-reflective tariff within a period of three years.
However, the decision did not go down well with the Nigeria Labour Congress, which told the Federal Government to prepare for the consequences of the tariff hike, which it described as wicked and unpopular, stressing that since the government preferred to listen to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, it should be ready to face the consequences.
The Head of Information, NLC, Benson Upah, told Saturday PUNCH, “We did say earlier that this tariff hike is insensitive and unpopular. So if the government elects to continue with the hike or persists in something that is evil, I’m sure it is equally prepared for the consequences of that evil.
“The manufacturers are saying this is going to hurt businesses and make the environment more hostile, and we also said so. There is no place in the world where high power tariffs have supported manufacturing. Not even in the developed world.
“So, it completely beats our imagination for the minister to have the audacity to say that the policy would continue. What this means is that the minister and the President are not in charge. It is saddening that the minister elected to pursue an unpopular policy.”
Upah added, “It shows that the minister and the President are not in charge. The people in charge are the World Bank and the IMF. They are the ones driving this highly injurious policy.
“So, our leaders should be prepared for the consequences of this highly injurious policy. That is what I’ll say about this issue for now.”
Manufacturers and the organised labour had kicked against the hike in tariff payable by about 1.9 million consumers, which was approved and announced by the Federal Government on Wednesday.
Subsidy on electricity was withdrawn completely from the tariff of consumers on the band A category, which constitute about 15 per cent of the total 12.82 million power consumers across the country.
The government announced the hike in electricity tariff at a press briefing in Abuja by NERC, adding that those affected would pay N225 per kilowatt-hour, up from the previous rate of N68/kWh, representing about 240 per cent increase.
The government stated that the decision took effect on April 3, 2024.
But the Organised Private Sector, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress kicked against the hike in tariff for power users and demanded that the decision be reversed.
They argued that the hike in tariff would send manufacturers out of business, worsen inflation and stifle small and medium enterprises, adding that there was no place in Nigeria currently enjoying up to 20 hours of power supply daily.
Band A power users are those who get up to 20 hours supply of electricity daily.
The Punch
President Bola Tinubu has approved the posting of four ambassador-designates out of the 68 confirmed by the Senate last December.
The approvals were conveyed in a statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, dated January 22, 2024.
According to the statement, Ambassador Ayodele Oke has been posted as ambassador-designate to France, while Colonel Lateef Are has been posted as ambassador-designate to the United States of America.
Also confirmed by the President is the posting of Ambassador Amin Dalhatu, former ambassador to South Korea, as the high commissioner-designate to the United Kingdom.
Usman Isa Dakingari Suleiman, former governor of Kebbi, is the ambassador-designate to Turkey, where the President is scheduled to begin a state visit next week.
In a memo to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, President Tinubu urged the ministry to notify the governments of the four countries about the ambassador-designates, in accordance with diplomatic procedures.
The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, has declined to set up a judicial panel to investigate Governor Siminalayi Fubara, citing a court order.
The Rivers State House of Assembly had requested that Amadi set up a seven-member panel to probe Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, over allegations of gross misconduct.
However, in a letter dated January 20 and addressed to the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, the chief judge cited two court orders barring him from receiving, forwarding, or considering any requests to form such a panel.
The judge stated that the orders were served on his office on January 16, 2026 and remain in force.
The chief judge emphasised that constitutionalism and the rule of law require all authorities to obey subsisting court orders, irrespective of their perception of the orders’ validity.
He referenced legal precedents, noting that in a similar case in 2007, the Chief Judge of Kwara State was condemned for ignoring a restraining court order when setting up an investigative panel, a decision later voided by the Court of Appeal.
Justice Amadi further observed that the Speaker has already filed an appeal against the court orders at the Court of Appeal, adding another layer to the ongoing legal proceedings surrounding the allegations.
“By the doctrine of ‘lis pendens’, parties and the court have to await the outcome of the appeal,” he said.
Justice Amadi further stated that the existence of the injunctions and the pending appeal had effectively tied his hands.
“In view of the foregoing, my hand is fettered, as there are subsisting interim orders of injunction and appeal against the said orders. I am therefore legally disabled at this point from exercising my duties under Section 188(5) of the Constitution in the instant,” he said.
The chief judge appealed to the lawmakers to recognise the legal constraints surrounding the matter.
Justice Amadi, therefore, urged the state assembly to be “magnanimous enough to appreciate the legal position of the matter.”
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has reportedly affirmed the removal of Julius Abure as the national chairman of the Labour Party, LP.
The Court also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to recognize the Senator Nenadi Usman-led National Caretaker Committee as the party’s lawful leadership.
The development was disclosed by human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, in a post on X, where he said he was present at the Federal High Court when the judgment was delivered in a related case.
Effiong stated that Justice Lifu delivering judgment on Wednesday, upheld the Nenadi Usman-led committee as the only valid and lawful leadership of the Labour Party, reaffirming that Abure’s tenure had elapsed in line with an earlier Supreme Court judgment.
The court consequently directed INEC to immediately recognize Nenadi Usman as the party’s leader.
He wrote: “I am currently before the Federal High Court in Abuja for a case. I listened to judgement delivered in an another case.
“Honourable Justice Lifu has just upheld Senator Nnadi Esther Usman-led National Caretaker Committee as the only valid and lawful leadership of the Labour Party.
“The Judge reaffirmed that by the Supreme Court’s judgement, Julius Abure’s tenure had since elapsed.
