New power tariff: Fashola violating UN ruling, says SERAP

Tuesday, February 9, 2016 11:19 am

Raji Fashola: Minister of Power, Housing and Works

Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Mr. Babatunde Fashola must stop the 45 percent increase in electricity tariff, in compliance with a ruling by UN rapporteurs three years ago, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) said today.

SERAP’s memo followed a nationwide protest on Monday by the Nigeria Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress against the increase in electricity tariffs, demanding an immediate reversal of the hike.

In a statement today signed by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni the organisation said, “Nigeria is an important member of the UN and has voluntarily accepted its Charter and treaties. Therefore, any effort to increase electricity tarrifs should be guided by the recommendations by the UN recommendations and dialogue with organised labour and other stakeholders.”

The organisation noted that “The United Nations published the Joint Letter of Concern sent to the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan in which they expressed concerns that “access to electricity (and regularity of supply) is a significant problem in Nigeria,” and raised eight questions for the government to answer within 60 days.”

The letter with reference No NGA 5/2013 and dated 26 November 2013, and signed by two special rapporteurs expressed concerns that “at the end of 2012, Nigeria with a population of about 160 million people only generated about 4,000 megawatts of electricity, which is ten times less than some other countries in the region with less population.”

The UN special rapporteurs argued that “all beneficiaries of the right to adequate housing should have sustainable access to energy for cooking, heating and lighting. The failure of States to provide basic services such as electricity is a violation of the right to health.”

The rapporteurs Ms. Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights and Ms. Raquel Rolnik Special Rapporteur on adequate housing sent the letter following a petition lodged last year by a coalition of human rights activists, labour, journalists and lawyers led by SERAP. The petition alleged that increase in electricity tarrifs would “have detrimental impact on the human rights of those living in poverty in the country.”

According to them, “The increases in electricity tariffs, problems with measuring electricity usage, lack of improvement in the quality of the service and lack of transparency in the use of funds, reportedly disproportionately impact on those with little disposable income, as well as exacerbate the scarcity of energy supply for those who already cannot afford electricity even if connected to the grid.”

“Given the fact that in Nigeria electricity provision has been outsourced to the private sector, the obligation remains for the Nigerian government to ensure that private sector actions do not result in violations of the right to an adequate standard of living,” the special rapporteurs argued.

Other signatories to the petition sent to the special rapporteurs in September 2013 are: the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE); Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ); Women Advocates Research and Documentation Center (WARDC); Women Empowerment and Legal Aid Initiative (WELA); Partnership for Justice (PJ); Education Rights Campaign (ERC); Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Lagos State Council; Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Lagos; Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Ikeja branch; National Union of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE), and Joint Action Front (JAF).