President Muhammadu Buhari has for the first time personally addressed the recent hike in price of premium motor spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol and electricity tariff.
The President spoke on the decisions, which had attracted criticisms from some Nigerians, especially opposition political parties and analysts, at the First Year Ministerial Performance Review Retreat held at the Conference Centre of the State House, Abuja on Monday, September 7.
Buhari, who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said the COVID-19 pandemic, which had affected economies globally, compelled his administration to make some necessary far-reaching adjustments for long-term gains with some initial pain.
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The President, who listed negative consequences if government should resume the business of fixing or subsidising PMS prices, said it would mean a return to the costly subsidy regime with the potential return of fuel queues.
Buhari, who said there was no provision for fuel subsidy in the revised 2020 budget, assured citizens of the government’s determination to remain alert to its responsibilities by preventing marketers from raising prices arbitrarily or exploiting them.
While speaking on the hike in electricity tariff, Buhari stated that he was not happy with the quality of service being offered by the Distribution Companies of Nigeria (DISCOs).
As a result, the President expressed that his administration was pursuing a mass metering program to provide meters for over 5 million Nigerians.
He said protecting the poor and vulnerable, while ensuring improved service in the power sector remained a major priority for his administration.
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The President noted;
The other painful adjustment that we have had to make in recent days is a review of the electricity tariff regime. If there is one thing that we have heard over and over again, it is that Nigerians want consistent and reliable power supply. So, the power sector remains a critical priority for the administration.
Protecting the poor and vulnerable, while ensuring improved service in the power sector, is also a major priority for Government. And our policies, like the social investment programmes and other socio-economic schemes to benefit Nigerians, show that we remain focused on improving the welfare of the common man.
Buhari stressed;
In addressing the power problems, we must not forget that most Nigerians are not even connected to electricity at all. So, as part of the Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP), we are providing Solar home systems to 5 million Nigerian households (impacting up to 25 million individual Nigerians) in the next 12 months.
He explained;
There has been some concern expressed about the timing of these two necessary adjustments. It is important to stress that it is a mere coincidence in the sense that the deregulation of PMS prices happened quite some time ago, it was announced on 18 March 2020 and the price moderation that took place at the beginning of this month was just part of the on-going monthly adjustments to global crude oil prices. Similarly, the review of service-based electricity tariffs was scheduled to start at the beginning of July but was put on hold to enable further studies and proper arrangements to be made.
The President said the government would not inflict hardship on people by being insensitive to their condition at this “very difficult economic situation”.
He then directed ministers and senior officials to ensure a “vigorous and prompt” implementation of the ESP programmes to give succour to Nigerians at the present difficult time.
