The Senate, on Wednesday, urged the Federal Government not to hike electricity tariff under any guise.
Doing so, the upper legislative chamber said, would worsen the plight of Nigerians.
The warning was issued at a plenary presided by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
The Senate further adopted a resolution asking its Committee on Power to investigate the over N2 trillion subsidy requirements, as claimed by Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, and another N1.3 trillion owed electricity Generation Companies (GenCos) as well as a $1.3 billion debt to gas companies.
Lawmakers who earlier contributed to the motion, expressed concerns about the planned increase in electricity tariff, wondering if the Federal Government was sensitive to the plight of Nigerians over the current economic crisis.
READ ALSO: Power Minister, Adelabu Advocates For Electricity Subsidy Removal, To Clear Debt Owed GenCos
The motion which was sponsored by Senator Aminu Iya Abba alongside 10 other lawmakers notified the upper legislative chamber of the planned electricity tariff hike and warned that “doing at this time would have backlash”.
Abba also called on the electricity companies to stop arbitrary billing of unmetered customers.
Former Speaker of the House of Representatives and former Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, supporting the motion, cautioned the Federal Government, saying it should first tackle hunger and hardship faced by citizens before contemplating electricity tariff hike.
After a debate, the Senate resolved that the Federal Government should stop the planned electricity tariff hike in the interest of Nigerians.
They further resolved that “the Minister of Power should be investigated over the N2 trillion he said was needed for electricity tariff to avoid the repeat of fuel subsidy scandal.”
