NEWS
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.
Alike Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual and Chairman of the Dangote Group, has disclosed that Nigeria will cease gasoline imports next month due to the strategic initiatives of the Dangote Refinery.
Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali, Dangote expressed optimism about revolutionizing Africa’s energy landscape.
Dangote emphasized the refinery’s capability to meet not only Nigeria’s gasoline demands but also those of West Africa for petrol and diesel, along with the continent’s aviation fuel requirements.
He said, “Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import anything like gasoline; not one drop of a litre.”
Additionally, Dangote outlined the progress made by the oil company to ensure that Africa achieves self-sufficiency in the energy sector.
He said, “We have enough gasoline to give to at least the entire West Africa, diesel to give to West Africa and Central Africa. We have enough aviation fuel to give to the entire continent and also export some to Brazil and Mexico.
“Today, our polypropylene and our polyethene will meet the entire demand of Africa and we are doing base oil, which is like engine oil, we are doing linear benzyl, which is raw material to produce detergent. We have 1.4 billion people in the population, nobody is producing that in Africa.
“So, all the raw materials for our detergents are imported. We are producing that raw material to make Africa self-sufficient. As I said, give us three or a maximum of four years and Africa will not, I repeat, not import any more fertilizer from anywhere.
“We will make Africa self-sufficient in potash, phosphate, and urea, we are at three million tonnes and in the next twenty months, we will be at six million tonnes of urea which is the entire capacity of Egypt. We are getting there.”
Dangote further elaborated on the achievements of the company since the commissioning of the refinery in February.
“For some of us, despite the boom of the capital market of the US, you know, Google, Microsoft and the rest, we didn’t participate, we took all our money and invested in Africa.
“We had this dream, just about five years ago and we said we want to move from five billion (dollars) revenue to thirty billion revenue and we made it happen. It is possible and now we have made it happen and now we have finished our refinery.
“Our refinery is quite big, it is something that we believe that Africa needs. If you look at the whole continent, there are only two countries that don’t import petroleum products which is a tragedy. They are only Algeria and Libya. The rest are all importers.
“So, we need to change and make sure that we don’t just go and produce raw materials, we should also produce finished products and create jobs.
“One of the things we also need to know as Africans is that we produce raw materials and export them when you export raw materials and somebody now keeps importing things into your continent and dumping goods. what you are importing is poverty and exporting jobs. So, we have to change that narrative.
“We just commissioned in February and now we are producing jet fuel, we are producing diesel and by next month, we will be producing gasoline.
“What that would do is that we would be taking most of the African crude that is being produced and also be able to supply not only Nigeria, because our capacity is too big for Nigeria, but it would also supply West Africa, Central Africa and also South Africa.
“We have 650,000 barrels per day, 1 million tonnes of polypropylene, we have 590,000 carbon black, that is the raw materials ink, dyes and co. We are expanding more. This is the first phase and we are going out to the next phase which will start early next year,” he said.
The Ulama Forum in Nigeria, representing Islamic clerics, and the Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN) have voiced their disapproval of Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye’s decision to challenge a proposed mass wedding for orphaned girls in Niger State through legal means.
Both groups have thrown their support behind Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji, the Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, who initiated the idea of conducting a mass wedding for girls who lost their parents to bandit attacks in the state.
In a statement issued jointly from Kano and signed by the forum’s Convener, Aminu Inuwa Muhammad, and Secretary, Engineer Bashir Adamu Aliyu, the Ulama Forum affirmed its backing of the planned weddings for victims of banditry and kidnapping in Niger State.
The forum criticized the minister for what they perceive as her attempt to garner media attention with what they described as “her Islamophobic rhetoric,” alleging that her actions demonstrate a lack of respect for Sharia law.
The forum characterized the minister’s actions as selective, amateurish, and tribalistic, asserting that the 1999 Constitution upholds religious freedom and acknowledges Sharia provisions allowing the marriage of the prospective brides.
Furthermore, they highlighted that, as a lawyer, the minister should be aware that the Child Rights Act does not extend beyond the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The forum cautioned the administration of President Bola Tinubu to be cautious of “such public officers and institutions that will set it against the people.”
Likewise, MULAN has declared its intent to confront the minister in a rigorous legal confrontation regarding her efforts to halt the mass wedding of 100 orphans.
In a statement endorsed by its President, Barrister Saeed Muhammad Tudun-Wada, MULAN asserted that the proposed wedding adhered to the principles and regulations of both Islamic and Nigerian laws, while criticizing the minister for her alleged lack of understanding.
“We understand that the proposed mass wedding scheduled for May 24, 2024, has been subjected to a needless controversy arising from the recent intrusion of the minister,” MULAN said.
“Incidentally, we understand that Mrs Ohanenye has instituted legal action to stop the noble course and further petitioned the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokum, against the move of Niger State Speaker Rt. Hon. Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji to sponsor the marriage of 100 girls.
“In the light of this, the Muslim lawyers have resolved to meet the minister at the court of competent jurisdiction. Already, we have assembled not less than five Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) and 27 other members of the association to join in challenging the minister.
“MULAN regretted that the minister had decided to venture into a matter she lacked the right and competence to delve into. By so doing, she has overstretched her limit by interfering with the private and personal interests of the Niger girls. We are prepared to join issues with her.
“For the purpose of emphasis, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is generous enough to allow every Nigerian to conduct marriage with whomever he or she so wishes, so long such an act did not violate any provision of the constitution.
“MULAN is fully behind the proposed mass wedding and the genuine interest of the Speaker to ease the burden of the marriage is well in line with Islamic principles.”
The Minister of Women Affairs on Friday, addressed her legal action against Speaker Sarkindaji, citing his proposal to marry off 100 orphans from his constituency.
During an appearance on Channels TV’s Politics Today, the minister emphasized her adherence to the constitution in her duties, stating: “When I’m doing my work, I focus on the constitution. What I stood for was the fundamental human rights of the children. I want an investigation carried out. Religion is not part of the work I am doing.”
She also mentioned collaborating with the Speaker and other stakeholders to empower the girls instead of arranging marriages for them.
She said “When I met with the speaker recently, he said to me that he never thought about it in the manner I was thinking about it, that he thought he was helping.
“But now that I have brought this up, we have partnered together to look into how we empower these children, take them to school, open businesses for them and make their lives better. He said he will partner with me.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced the appointment of 555 individuals to serve as chairpersons and members of the governing councils for tertiary institutions across Nigeria.
This significant move aims to enhance the governance and oversight of the country’s higher education sector.
The inauguration and orientation retreat for the newly appointed council members is scheduled for Thursday, May 30, and Friday, May 31, 2024.
In a related development, the government has successfully resolved the potential strike threat from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Nigeria To Stop Fuel Imports By June – Dangote
Ulama, Lawyers Slam Minister Over Niger Mass Wedding Opposition
Tinubu Appoints 555 To Education Councils, ASUU Strike Resolved
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