By Moses John
Abuja
The Organised Labour and a Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), yesterday
grounded activities at the Abuja offices of the Abuja Distribution Company (ADISCO), as well as the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), threatening to occupy the offices if the present 45 percent tariff hike is not reversed.
The coalition which trooped out en masse across the nation’s cities, is protesting the new hike in electricity products, describing the rate as illegal and vowing that Nigerians cannot pay for darkness.
The procession which began at about 8:30 in the morning at the Pascal Bafyau Labour House,Abuja, had in attendance affiliate unions of both the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, and the CSOs, chanting solidarity songs, through the National Mosque to the DISCO office at Zone 4 Abuja, the NERC office and terminating the protest at the National Assembly.
The workers who came out in their numbers, carried various placards in a long procession with inscriptions such as: “we say no to recent 45 increase in electricity tariff, we need
light not darkness, we say no to further exploitation of poor Nigerians” among others.
Speaking at the ADISCO office, NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said the response by Nigerians against tariff hike , has clearly demonstrated that the days of exploitation is over, stressing that Nigerians needed increase in power generation and not increase without power.
Wabba lamented that “this exploitation will not be allowed to stand and any further increase in this hard time will be resisted by the Nigerian masses.”
“Today, we have spoken and the days of taking Nigerians for granted is over, and the report we got all over the country showed that Nigerians are against the increase and are calling for its reversal. Also, the turnout today has clearly shown that we cannot pay for darkness” said Wabba.
Also speaking TUC President, Comrade Bobbio Kaigama, warned that Nigerians were putting both the DISCOs and GENCOs on notice, saying the days when the people were treated with impunity was over.
He also said that the organised labour would shut down offices of DISCOs and occupy same if nothing was done to reverse the tariff hike, stressing that there was no correlation between service delivery and price structure.
At the National Assembly, the protesters presented a letter to the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, urging the National Assembly to review law establishing the NERC, alleging that the commission acted in contravention of extant legislation as well as contempt of a subsisting Court order.
The letter which was jointly signed by both the NLC and TUC leadership, also warned that in the next phase of the struggle, the organised labour would picket all the offices and facilities of DISCOS until they bow to public opinion on the matter.
“As part of the process of finding and enduring solution to the arbitrariness of NERC and collaborators, we find it necessary to urge the National Assembly to strengthen the consumer protection law to give consumers the necessary latitude and confidence to organised
themselves in response to the impunity and arbitrariness of regulatory agencies or any other marketer or manufacturer of a product or service.”