FG FIXES DIALOGUE MEETING WITH LABOUR OVER INDEFINITE PROTEST.

Federal Government says it will next week hold a crucial meeting to address

the demands by organised labour for the restoration of the power subsidy

and the reversal of the hike in electricity tariff.

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Power, Florence Eke, disclosed this

after the labour unions disrupted activities at the ministry in Abuja, while, the

organised labour has threatened to continue with the protest indefinitely,

stressing that it might take drastic action should the government fail to

reverse the tariff hike.

The protests paralysed activities at the Federal Ministry of Power, and the

Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission and also disrupted the operations

of the distribution companies across the country, and the nationwide

protests were triggered by the Federal Government’s decision to raise

electricity tariffs and remove the subsidy from the power sector.

The NERC also said, the hike in the electricity tariff for Band A customers in

Abuja revealing that, those affected would pay N225 per kilowatt-hour, up

from the previous rate of N68/kWh, and the hike represented a 240 per cent

increase.

This is coming after the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria had earlier

given the NERC until May 12, to reverse the hike or face labour action.