An energy policy expert and executive director of the Electricity Consumer Protection Advocacy Centre, Pricewill Okorie, has accused Nigeria’s Federal Government and electricity distribution companies (DisCos) of pushing for another round of power-tariff increases. Okorie said the move is intended to enable industry players to “share the proceeds among themselves,” as authorities contemplate removing electricity subsidies for all customer categories.
Okorie made the allegation during an interview on Saturday while weighing the implications of plans to scrap electricity subsidies across every band of customers. His comments also came in response to remarks by Sadiq Wanka, the President’s special adviser on power infrastructure, who said electricity pricing for all bands in Nigeria would soon be implemented because it is now Federal Government policy.
Under the expected changes, electricity bills are projected to rise for customers in Bands B, C, D and E—categories covering households and businesses that receive 16 hours of power supply or less. Okorie argued that the subsidy removal may not tackle the structural problems affecting Nigeria’s power sector, questioning whether the reform is aimed at improving service delivery or simply extracting more payments from consumers.
He likened the planned electricity subsidy pullback to the earlier removal of fuel subsidies, saying it is another step that could worsen living conditions for Nigerians. Okorie pointed out that after the Band A tariff was introduced during the tenure of former power minister Adebayo Adelabu, there has not been a measurable improvement in the reliability or quality of electricity supply for the general public.
The executive director further said proposals to raise tariffs again under the current power minister, Joseph Tegbe, are not in the best interest of Nigerians. He challenged the logic of the changes, asking whether the issue is genuinely subsidy reform or whether authorities are seeking to continue drawing money from households and businesses.
“Is it the subsidy removal that is the issue? Or do they just want to keep milking Nigerians so they can share the money among themselves?” Okorie said. He added: “Another man (Adebayo Adelabu) came and introduced Bands A, B, C, and E. This one (Tegbe) has come now. He is removing the subsidy.”
Separately, the report noted that in April 2024 the Nigerian government raised the electricity tariff for Band A customers to 225 naira per kilowatt-hour (kWh), up from 68 naira per kWh.
