More Hardship for Nigerians As Tinubu's FG Announces Plan To Remove Electricity Subsidy

• The Nigerian government has lamented the high debt accumulation in the nation's power sector, noting it poses a great challenge to electricity subsidy
• FG said the country is currently indebted to the tune of N1.3 trillion to generating companies and $1.3 billion to gas companies
• Tinubu's minister of power hinted that state governments will now be allowed to generate power independently to supply to their people

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

FCT, Abuja - Amid the current economic challenges bedevilling Nigeria, the federal government headed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday, February 14, declared that it was now “very difficult to sustain subsidy on electricity”.

The minister of power, Adebayo Adelabu, told journalists at a press conference in Abuja that the country’s power debt had risen.

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According to Adelabu, Nigeria must begin to move towards a cost-effective tariff model, The Punch reported.

The minister revealed that the country was currently indebted to the tune of N1.3tn to electricity generating companies, while the debt to gas companies was $1.3 billion.

Adelabu stated that only N450 billion was budgeted for electricity subsidy in the 2024 budget but stressed that findings by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) showed that subsidy would gulp about N2.9 trillion this year, Daily Trust reported.

Why FG wants to remove electricity subsidy

Adelabu hinted further that this was caused by a shortage of gas, ageing machines in the grid value chain, low capacity to evacuate generated power, and destruction of power stations in some parts of the north-east geopolitical zone of the country, TVC News reported.

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This comes at a time when Nigerians across the country have been experiencing blackouts following the collapse of the power grid in 2023, compounded by the high cost of premium motor spirit, popularly known as fuel.

Tinubu’s wife sends message to Nigerians

In another related piece, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria's First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, assured Nigerians that the hard times they are facing will soon be over.

She gave the assurance during a meeting with the wives of governors at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday, February 5, 2024.

Mrs Tinubu said 2024 was a year loaded with peace, progress, prosperity and greater achievements to the advantage of all Nigerians, adding that President Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda was still intact.

The First Lady commended the governors' wives for their efforts and support in 2023, urging them not to relent in addressing the needs of the vulnerable in their states.

Source: Legit.ng