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How NERC’s New Commercial Billing Threatens Healthcare, Economy
The crippling impact of the newly introduced electricity billing, which classifies locations and businesses into two buckets of Band A or Band B has been decried.
President, Save-A-Life Foundation, Dr Richard Okoye, has expressed grave concerns about the scary electricity bill served on his hospital in Rivers State by the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution (PHED).
His outcry was contained in a video clip which went viral on Thursday,
Following the new billing classification, which put his hospital in Band A, Dr Okoye was aggrieved that his monthly bill jumped to N25,300,000, which he noted would have devastating effects on the healthcare sector in Nigeria, as well as other businesses.
Dr Okoye is not the only person speaking up against the excessive hike in electricity bills.
President, the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo, had made a similar call during the May Day Rally in Abuja, where he strongly urged the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to reverse the tariff hike within a week.
Osifo maintained that keeping the current billing levels would have severe impact on Nigeria’s economic growth, thus stressing the urgency of effective energy management to prevent further setbacks.
He maintained that the “glaring incompetence in managing this sector for the collective welfare of our citizens,” is a major factor constraining Nigeria’s economy.
The labour leader asserted that, “It is unethical to force Nigerians to pay higher tariffs for non-existent electricity. Estimated billing is an extortion and a daylight robbery against Nigerians.
Recall that the NERC on April 3, 2024 approved a significant increase in electricity tariffs for customers falling under the Band A classification.
Vice Chairman. NERC, Musliu Oseni, declared that the adjustment would raise the rate from the current N66 per kilowatt-hour to N225 per kilowatt-hour.
Though the billing reviews introduced by the NERC had attracted wide condemnation from Nigerians, the government had opted to stand behind the Commission.
For the government, the over 300 percent upward review was a take-it or leave-it for electricity consumers.
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who defended the scandalous review before the Senate pointed to the cost of infrastructure required to keep the sector running.
In his opinion, the only way to make the sector attractive to investors was to get the consumers to bear the cost of building and maintaining the infrastructure, which would also make the sector bankable.
Adelabu said, “For this sector to be revived, government need to spend nothing less than 10 billion dollars annually in the next 10 years.
“This is because of the infrastructure requirement for the stability of the sector. But government cannot afford that. And so we must make this sector attractive to investors and to lenders.
“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.”
However, Dr Okoye’s position, which Netizens applaud, is that the government’s decision to jerk up Band A’s tariff, would be an epidemic against the healthcare sector and other busiensses.
He described moving from paying N66 per kilowatt to N225 per kilowatt as a ‘Band A tariff epidemic”, capable of destroying the healthcare system of Nigeria.
Dr Okoye said, “By reason of us (the hospital) being in Band A, our monthly power bill is now shooting up to N25,300,000. That’s crazy; the hospitals are not business centres but only renders essential services to society.
“This Band A tariff epidemic is bound to destroy the country’s healthcare system.
“We are already struggling with an influx of doctors leaving the country. The majority of the healthcare system is struggling, as it were. If nothing is done to urgently revisit that decision, the Band A tariff epidemics will turn most hospitals into morgues. Something that could be preventable.
“Power (electricity) is the life of the healthcare delivery. Patients have hope and a sense of living again when the light is in the hospital. In addition to that, the majority of emergency drugs and anaesthetic drugs always want to be at a particular temperature which can be sustained by electricity. If this decision persists, it will come to a point where most of the drug will be in an unusable state, and it is already happening.”
Narrating his experience during a medical engagement to elaborate on the need for a hospital to be on steady power supply, Dr Okoye pointed out that an elderly woman who was supposed to be operated upon was given the requisite volume of propofol needed for her to relax but could not sleep because the potency of the drug has reduced due to poor storage, occasioned by inadequate power supply.
“We were surprised and thought the woman was alcoholic, and the anaesthetic increased the dose a little and asked again, only for the woman to confirm that she was fine again.
“After evaluation, it was discovered that though the drug was original but not well preserved, it would lose potency.
“That is to say, those who are diabetic in Nigeria should brace up because the majority of them would see no way to buy their drugs.
“In fact, they need to travel miles to get a hospital with a steady light to get drugs they are taking.
“While this Band A is on, teaching hospitals and Federal Medical Centres which used to enjoy some relative form of light because perhaps they would not be billed like other people. They are now downgrading them to Band B and channelling Band A to those they feel can pay to the detriment of the people.
“I can count on and on. Power (supply) is what determines whether a surgical procession would be successful or not. It determines the ‘before and after’ outcome of any surgery.”
“If the instruments are not properly sterilised, they may be the ones resistant to all antibiotics known, that even when we start getting it right, the worst has already happened,” Dr Okoye pointed out.
According to him, the Nigerian government must act fast in this regard to avoid it having a severe impact on the hospitals, the healthcare system, the health of Nigerians, and businesses generally.
“My heart melts when a teaching hospital can pack its instruments to go and sterilise in another hospital because it doesn’t have light. The FG should act because it is preventable as it is now,” he stressed.
It would appear thought that the government might not have the final say on this, as a Federal High Court in Kano had already issued restraining orders on the NERC and the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC).
The court ordered the parties to refrain from implementing the new electricity tariff for Band A consumers.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has welcomed the construction of a $12 million Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship, saying the facility will strengthen Nigeria’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) ecosystem and create more opportunities for businesses to grow and generate jobs.
The President made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
The Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE) is being developed at the SMEDAN Industrial Development Centre in Idu, Abuja, with funding from the Republic of Korea through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
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The project is being implemented in partnership with the Federal Government through the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The centre will provide workspaces, digital facilities, training, incubation and enterprise support for aspiring entrepreneurs, start-ups and existing businesses.
According to the statement, the facility has an initial target of supporting 500 entrepreneurs, 400 start-ups and 1,500 MSMEs.
About $5.9 million of the investment will be allocated to construction, while $6.1 million will fund equipment and programmes designed to support entrepreneurs and businesses.
Tinubu said the centre would help establish, strengthen and grow businesses.
“Small businesses are an important part of our economy. They employ people, support families and create activity in communities across the country.
“Many entrepreneurs already have the ideas and the determination to succeed. What they often need is better access to facilities, technology, training and the support that can help their businesses grow.
“This Centre will provide more of that support and strengthen the ecosystem around them,” he said.
The centre is expected to serve businesses in Abuja and surrounding cities, including Kaduna, Jos, Keffi, Lafia, Minna, Makurdi and Lokoja.
It is also expected to contribute to strengthening the wider entrepreneurship and MSME ecosystem across Northern Nigeria.
The President said the Federal Government would continue to expand the conditions that allow small businesses to grow and compete.
“We want more Nigerians to be able to start businesses, grow them and employ others.
“We also want existing small businesses to have better access to the tools and support they need to become stronger and more productive.
“That is important for jobs, incomes and the wider economy,” Tinubu said.
He added that the project complements the administration’s wider investments in digital skills, entrepreneurship, enterprise development and support for MSMEs.
The centre has also been designed to accommodate women and persons with disabilities. It will include accessible facilities and crèche services for women with young children.
While construction is ongoing, SMEDAN, KOICA and UNDP will work with universities, incubators, financial institutions, private-sector organisations and entrepreneur networks to build a wider support system around the centre.
The partners will also identify businesses that can benefit from the centre’s programmes.
Tinubu thanked the South Korean government for the $12 million investment and commended KOICA, UNDP and SMEDAN for advancing the project to the construction stage.
He said Nigeria would continue to welcome investments and partnerships that strengthen local businesses, deepen enterprise development and create more jobs.
“Our economy will be stronger when more Nigerian businesses can start, survive and grow.
“We must keep building the support around them and opening more opportunities for enterprise across the country,” the President said.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has demanded clarification over who is currently exercising the constitutional powers of the President as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima remain outside Nigeria.
The opposition party, in a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said Tinubu’s continued absence had raised questions about compliance with Section 145 of the Nigerian Constitution.
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The ADC said the provision requires the President, when proceeding on vacation or otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, to transmit a written declaration to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, after which the Vice-President performs the functions of Acting President.
According to the party, Tinubu left Nigeria on August 30 and has now been away for more than 21 days.
“President Tinubu left Nigeria on 30 August and has now been away for more than 21 days. We therefore demand to know whether the required declaration was transmitted by the President,” the ADC said.
The party also questioned why the National Assembly had not addressed the issue if such a declaration had not been transmitted.
The ADC rejected the Presidency’s description of Tinubu’s stay abroad as a “working vacation”, arguing that the phrase does not create a separate constitutional category.
“There is no constitutional category known as a ‘working vacation’. Presidential authority cannot be transferred by convenience, protocol or press statement,” the party said.
The opposition party also dismissed the suggestion that Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, could effectively represent the President in the discharge of presidential responsibilities.
“Representing the President at events and ceremonies does not confer constitutional powers. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation is a mere appointee of the President,” it said.
The ADC stressed that attending official functions or delivering speeches on behalf of the President was different from exercising the constitutional powers of the President or Acting President.
“Representation is not governance. Attendance at official functions is not presidential authority,” the party added.
The controversy comes as Vice-President Shettima is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, where he is representing Nigeria.
The ADC said the simultaneous absence of the President and Vice-President was particularly concerning given what it described as Nigeria’s security, unemployment and cost-of-living challenges.
The party also criticised Tinubu’s continued stay in Paris while French President Emmanuel Macron travelled to New York for the UN General Assembly.
“The irony would be amusing if it were not a national disgrace,” the ADC said, arguing that the situation created poor optics for Nigeria.
Macron had hosted Tinubu at a private dinner at the Élysée Palace in Paris before travelling to New York for the UN General Assembly.
The ADC therefore called on the Presidency and the National Assembly to answer what it described as a fundamental constitutional question.
“Who presently exercises the constitutional powers of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and under what provision of the Constitution?” the party asked.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has called on African countries to unite and end the export of raw mineral resources, urging the continent to focus on local processing, manufacturing and value addition.
Tinubu made the call on Tuesday in New York, United States, while declaring open the 3rd Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa, held on the sidelines of the ongoing 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The high-level meeting, which was chaired by Tinubu, was themed, “From Resources to Wealth: Continental Cooperation for Mineral Value Addition, Data Sovereignty, Innovative Financing and Critical Minerals Security.”
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Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, Tinubu told African leaders and stakeholders that the continent must move away from its long-standing position as a supplier of raw materials and develop industries capable of processing its mineral resources locally.
“For generations, Africa has furnished the materials of prosperity elsewhere. Our duty is to ensure that the future being fashioned from African minerals has room for African ambition,” the President said.
Tinubu expressed concern that mineral-rich communities across Africa continue to suffer from inadequate infrastructure, limited employment opportunities and insufficient participation in the wealth generated from their natural resources.
He noted that rising global demand for clean energy, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing had made African critical minerals such as cobalt, copper, lithium and rare earth elements increasingly important to global supply chains.
According to the President, Africa’s response should include mineral processing and refining, battery production, component manufacturing, African technologies and the development of competitive skills.
“The worth of a mine must be counted in the lives it improves,” Tinubu said.
“Jobs, industries, infrastructure, technology transfer, African enterprise participation and prosperity retained across generations must measure our progress from resources to wealth.”
Tinubu Warns Against African Fragmentation
The President said no African country could achieve the desired transformation of its mineral sector alone.
He warned that countries competing against one another by offering lower royalties, weaker local-content requirements and excessive concessions could undermine the continent’s collective bargaining power.
“Fragmentation leaves us exporting raw materials and buying finished goods at a premium. Cooperation gives our markets scale, our industries integration, our financing reach and our negotiations authority,” he said.
Tinubu called for greater continental cooperation, saying African countries must negotiate collectively where their interests converge and ensure that partnerships with external investors strengthen rather than undermine African industrial capacity.
“Reliability must never mean dependency, and partnership must never demand inequality,” he added.
President Highlights Nigeria’s Mining Reforms
Tinubu also highlighted reforms in Nigeria’s mining sector, saying the country must require local value addition for new mining licences, strengthen geological data and investor access, organise artisanal miners into cooperatives, combat illegal mining and improve regulatory accountability.
He disclosed that revenue from Nigeria’s mining sector rose from approximately ₦6 billion in 2023 to over ₦38 billion in 2024, and further to between ₦68.1 billion and ₦70 billion in 2025.
The President also pointed to major foreign investment commitments and the development and commissioning of large-scale lithium processing capacity in Nasarawa State as evidence of the opportunities available in the sector.
He said his administration’s mining policy was designed to ensure that minerals extracted in Nigeria contribute to the country’s industries, workers, skills and communities.
According to Tinubu, ongoing reforms have demonstrated that “firm terms can attract serious capital.”
Tinubu Backs Continental Minerals Framework
The President also endorsed the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration (CIEAD) adopted at the roundtable.
He said the declaration should create a predictable and investment-ready environment for Africa’s strategic mineral corridors through harmonised policies, responsible investment and shared infrastructure.
Tinubu, however, stressed that the declaration must go beyond a ceremonial signing and be backed by clear timelines, financing, implementation mechanisms and public accountability.
“Africa’s power resides in its people, markets and ingenuity. No outsider will organise our continent or place our industrial interests above their own,” he said.
“We must integrate our markets, mobilise African capital and negotiate with one voice wherever our interests converge.”
He added: “Our industrial growth can strengthen global prosperity, the energy transition and secure supply chains. Minerals confer no automatic prosperity; vision, investment and industry must earn it. Political will must turn mineral promise into enduring African wealth.”
Alake Calls for More African Countries to Join AMSG
Earlier, AMSG Chairman and Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, said the group was proposing the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration as a framework for establishing a unified architecture for Africa’s critical and solid minerals value chains.
Alake urged African countries that have yet to join the AMSG to become members, stressing the importance of coordinating efforts, ideas and resources to develop the continent’s natural resources.
He said Africa’s mineral ambitions could not be achieved through policy implementation alone, arguing that integrated partnerships covering financial transactions and infrastructure development were also necessary.
Kenya’s Minister of Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs, Hassan Ali Joho, also emphasised the importance of domestic resource mobilisation for solid mineral development.
Joho called for transparency, competitiveness and greater alignment of licensing procedures among AMSG members while respecting the sovereignty of individual countries.
Representatives of Liberia, Chad and Tanzania, alongside other stakeholders, also contributed to the discussions.
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