More hardships as FG plans to remove electricity subsidy

Adebayo Obajemu

Amid the current economic hardships Nigerians are facing, hunger and growing frustrations , the Bola Ahmed Tinubu- led federal government is planning to remove electricity subsidy anytime from now.

Reliable sources told EnergyDay. The sources hinted that the removal will come before May this year.

Recall that on Wednesday, February 14, 2024 the Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu disclosed that it was now “very difficult to sustain subsidy on electricity” as it revealed that the country’s power debt had risen.

Adelabu, made the disclosures to journalists at a press conference in Abuja last week.

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

Adelabu stated 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.

He disclosed 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.

Adelabu blamed the ongoing power cuts on 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.