The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has reiterated its readiness to embark on a nationwide industrial action should the government at any time declare an increment in electricity tariff without fulfilling the terms of the agreements it reached with labour.
NLC also stated that it need not give government another notice for industrial action as its August 30, 2021 notice on the matter was explicit.
“Congress reaffirms its notice to the Federal Government issued on August 30, 2021 that; “should the government make true the swirling speculations by approving an increase in electricity tariff, organized labour would be left with no option than to deploy the industrial mechanisms granted in our laws for the defence of workers’ rights.”
In a press release signed by NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, and made available to journalists, the mother labour union, warned that some speculations and rumours in the media that Federal Government plans to further increase electricity tariff in the country is worrisome and should not be a sort of strategy by government to take such action that would inflict more hardship on Nigerians.
The statement reads; “The attention of the Nigeria Labour Congress has been drawn to a report in the Daily Sun newspaper of September 21, 2021 to the effect that electricity tariff would rise by over a hundred per cent from January 2022.
“The story was purportedly distilled from the remarks of the Special Adviser to the President on Infrastructure at the stakeholders’ engagement of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) held in Lagos on Friday, September 17, 2021.
To be charitable, Congress had received a refutation of the newspaper report from the Special Adviser and Secretary of the FGN-Labour Committee on Electricity Tariff earlier on Tuesday, September 21. He also apprised Congress leadership that he had been contacted by some other newspapers between September 18 and 20 for confirmation of the story and that he categorically debunked the basis and essence of the attributed statement.
“To quote the Special Adviser, “the press article and statements ascribed to me did not emanate from me or my office.” He ended with the commitment to further “engagements with our labour colleagues in furtherance of joint goals to improve the power sector and the Nigerian economy.”
“Fortunately, the rebuttal by the Special Adviser came before the newspaper was supplied to Congress National Secretariat. Since the Special Adviser had pre-emptively reached out to Congress leadership beforehand, it was reasonable to treat the newspaper report with caution and give the Special Adviser the benefit of the doubt.
“We, however, note that the relevant part of the newspaper report revolves around the point that “the Federal Government is ending N30 billion Naira subsidy by January 2022.”
“In essence, Congress hopes that the newspaper report was an overly extended interpretation of the ostensible plan to end the subsidy of the electricity sector.
“It is rather significant to state that the existence of a subsidy or lack of it in the electricity sector is one of the contentious matters the FG-Labour Committee on Electricity Tariff was mandated to handle.
“Congress equally wishes to reiterate that one of the agreements with the Federal Government on September 28, 2020, includes freezing further increases in electricity tariff until the FGN-Labour Committee on Electricity Tariff concludes its work and its report is submitted and adopted by the principals in the broad FG-Labour platform, led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Presidents of NLC and TUC, respectively.
“This pact to freeze electricity tariff increase entered into by the principals last year September remains sacrosanct to Congress and would not admit flouting it by any form of subterfuge.
“Despite the suppositions, fibs and fabrications, possible prevarications, Congress is inclined to dismiss the probable increase in electricity tariff as a mere conjecture. We would, however, be mindful to carefully track the various rumours, decoys and perhaps, arrant mischief concerning the management of electricity tariff.
“Accordingly, Congress would indeed keep a monitoring tab on the work of the committee. Congress urges the committee to hasten its work and present a report to the principals in the shortest time.”
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