By George Mgbelele<\/p>\n
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has declared that residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have become unwilling victims of what appears to be an increasingly exploitative electricity distribution regime, warning that the continued silence of regulatory authorities is emboldening practices that are pushing ordinary families deeper into poverty.<\/p>\n
The prominent Pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group said the torrent of complaints from electricity consumers across Abuja over the drastic reduction in prepaid electricity units for the same amount of money is a national scandal that demands immediate presidential intervention.
\nIt is outrageous that while the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) publicly maintains that it has not approved any tariff increase, thousands of Abuja residents continue to receive significantly fewer electricity units for the same payments they made only weeks ago.
\nThis glaring contradiction cannot simply be wished away.
\nEither someone is misleading Nigerians, or consumers are being subjected to arbitrary charges under the cover of a system that lacks transparency and accountability.<\/p>\n
For HURIWA, both possibilities are unacceptable.
\nThe association said Abuja residents are no longer merely battling epileptic power supply\u2014they are now paying premium prices for darkness.
\n“It is unconscionable that an average household running nothing more than a refrigerator, a few fans and light bulbs now spends as much as \u20a645,000 on electricity credits that disappear within days without any convincing explanation. Nigerians are being compelled to pay more for less, while those charged with protecting consumers appear content to watch from the sidelines.”<\/p>\n
HURIWA accused AEDC of failing the basic test of public accountability by refusing to provide satisfactory explanations to consumers over the persistent complaints of disappearing prepaid units.
\nThe association also faulted NERC for not acting with the urgency expected of a regulator whose primary statutory responsibility is to protect electricity consumers from unfair and opaque market practices.<\/p>\n
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), HURIWA said, is doing so well in checking the exploitation of Nigerians by service providers in the financial, telecoms, and retail marketing services but that active institutional must equally up the ante and broaden its constitutional responsibility to save electricity consumers who are shortchanged. Consumer rights do not end at supermarkets, airlines and telecommunications companies. Electricity consumers deserve the same vigorous protection against alleged exploitation.<\/p>\n
HURIWA warned that monopoly has become the greatest enemy of efficiency in Abuja’s electricity market.
\n“When one company dominates electricity distribution without effective competition, consumers become captives. They complain but no one listens. They pay more but receive less. They suffer blackouts yet continue to receive outrageous bills. That is not service delivery; it is consumer helplessness.”
\nThe association questioned the much-publicised electricity subsidy being touted by government.
\n“If Nigerians are supposedly enjoying electricity subsidies, why are households spending unprecedented sums on electricity despite receiving fewer units and poorer service? Where exactly is this subsidy going? Nigerians deserve honest answers.”
\nHURIWA called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct an immediate, independent forensic investigation into AEDC’s prepaid metering and billing architecture to determine whether consumers are being subjected to arbitrary deductions or other irregularities.
\nThe association further demanded that:
\nAEDC immediately publish a detailed explanation for the reported reduction in prepaid electricity units.
\nNERC conduct a transparent public investigation and publish its findings without delay.
\nFCCPC commence an inquiry into allegations of exploitative consumer practices within the Abuja electricity market.
\nConsumers found to have been overbilled or unfairly charged be fully refunded and compensated.
\nSmart metering and billing systems be subjected to independent periodic audits accessible to the public.
\nHURIWA also urged the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to urgently establish alternative electricity supply arrangements by leveraging the powers available under Nigeria’s reformed electricity sector. Abuja must no longer remain at the mercy of a single distribution company.
\nCompetition\u2014not monopoly\u2014is the antidote to inefficiency, arbitrary pricing and poor service delivery.
\nThe association vowed to continue mobilising consumers and engaging all lawful democratic channels until Abuja residents begin to receive what they pay for: reliable electricity, transparent billing and respect for their rights as citizens.
\nNigerians are tired of paying for darkness. The era of unexplained charges, shrinking prepaid units and regulatory silence must end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbelele The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has declared that residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have become unwilling victims of what appears to be an increasingly exploitative electricity distribution regime, warning that the continued silence of regulatory authorities is emboldening practices that are pushing ordinary families deeper into poverty. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11875,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16341"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16342,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16341\/revisions\/16342"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}