The National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator Ajibola Bashiru, has stated that Nigeria does not operate a socialist economy where electricity generation, transmission, and distribution are provided free of charge to citizens.
Senator Bashiru remarked on an appearance on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm programme on Tuesday. He explained that the APC-led government has continued to invest in efforts aimed at resolving longstanding infrastructural challenges within the energy sector.
His comments followed concerns raised by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat, over a sharp increase in his household’s electricity tariff.
At a meeting with the Rural Electrification Agency, REA, in Lagos on Monday, Hamzat revealed that his electricity bill surged from N2.7 million in March to N29 million in April, prompting a broader discussion about energy costs and billing practices.
Responding, Bashiru said, “Energy is not cheap anywhere in the world. Nigeria is not running a socialist society. Let us get it very right. We are in a globalised economy.
“Of late, the transmission companies have been unbundled to address the problem of inefficiency and for adequate focus to ensure there is an adequate supply for Nigerians.
“As to the tale by the deputy governor of Lagos State, I don’t know the level of gadgets he has in his house. I wouldn’t know the size of his house, and I wouldn’t know the energy requirement that would occasion that huge amount of money and the basis of that bill.
“But it would not be correct to say that that humongous amount would apply to ordinary Nigerians who just run their lifestyle based on watching television, using electricity, and possibly, when there is heat, using air conditioning.”
The APC scribe argued that the claim of the Lagos deputy governor cannot be used as a representative sampling of what ordinary Nigerians are going through.
“You cannot pigeonhole to say people spend N20,000 in a matter of days. What is the cost of generating? What is the cost of transmission? What is the cost of distribution?”
“It should be run based on economic efficiency so that the cost of production of the energy itself must be recovered, and they must be able to make a profit. We are not running a socialist economy,” he said.
