Segun Ayinde, Abeokuta
The Ogun State chapter of Trade Union Congress (TUC), and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Monday joined their counterparts across the nation to press home their demand on the reversal of the recent increase in the electricity tariff
They equally asked President Bola Tinubu to cut off the new tariff, describing it as another burden to the plight and suffering of the masses in the face of economic hardship.
The workers took their peaceful protest to the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company office at Leme, Imo, and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Ibara GRA, Abeokuta.
They picketed the two offices blocking officers of the organizations from coming in and out, a situation that left them stranded and unable to carry out their duties
The TUC Chairman, Comrade Akeem Lasisi, while speaking with newsmen, said the action was in compliance with the directive of the national leadership of the union to force the federal government to reverse the recent hike in electricity tariff.
He said, “We all woke up on the 3rd day of April to hear the insulting increase of electricity tariff to N225 kilowatt/hour without consulting the major stakeholders in the power sector.
“As workers, we are totally against this because our salary remains stagnant, the exchange rate, school fees, house rent, food items, transport fare, etc are all on the increase while our salary is begging for an upward review.
“A Disco company that could not successfully distribute prepaid meter to all the households in the country, suddenly wake up to increase the electricity tariff, we say a capital NO!
“We want a wage increase and not an electricity increase, Nigerians should not be shortchanged, we should be allowed to breathe, we should not suffer the inefficiency of our leaders.”
Similarly, the state NLC Chairman, Ademola Hammed-Benco, described the hike in electricity tariff as inhuman, insensitive and unfriendly to the workers.
He said such should not be happening in the country especially when the workers were still waiting for a new minimum wage which was yet to come to reality but instead it was an increase in the tariff of electricity.
Hammed-Benco said, “We are here to express the displeasure of Nigerians on the purported hike in electricity tariff and we have been directed by the national leadership of TUC and NLC to seal all the NERC officers and that of the DISCOs across the state and that is what we are doing.
“We have already accomplished that of IBEDC in Leme because I must confess to you the price hike is anti-human and it is unfriendly to labour.
“While waiting for the new living wage which has not come to reality and they are now increasing the tariff of electricity, it is uncalled, it is appalling.
“We are using this opportunity to express our displeasure and to tell President Bola Tinubu that as he has reverted the cyber security levy, he should also compel Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) to do the same.
“They should revert to the price that we were paying before, there must not be any increase in electricity tariff.”