Abuja, July 28, 2023: The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has faulted the proposed move by Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) to increase electricity tariff.
The chamber in a statement issued on Thursday by its President Dr Al-Mujtaba Abubakar said that the increment would inflict more hardship on the business community and Nigerians.
The AEDC announced moves to increase the prices of electricity tariffs in franchise locations, especially in the Federal capital territory (FCT) due to the fuel subsidy removal and the depreciation of the Naira.
The depreciation of the Naira was occasioned by the unification of the foreign exchange market which resulted in the increase of goods and services across the country.
The Managing Director of AEDC, Mr Adeoye Fadeyibi blamed the electricity increment on subsidy removal, high exchange rate among other factors.
Fadeyibi, however, said that the billing would be done transparently.
Abubakar insists that if the increase in electricity tariff is not halted it would become tougher for Nigerians who are managing to survive.
According to him, this will lead many to theft, depression, street begging, health challenges, frustrations or even death.
“The proposed move of the electricity company to increase tariff would further frustrate the ease of doing business as many enterprises are struggling to meet up to their obligations.
“This has led to the sack of employees and the closure of many Small and Medium Enterprises across the country,’’ the ACCI president said.
He also said that the plan would further bring hardship on entrepreneurs that are struggling to survive.
“Apart from the removal of fuel subsidy, the electricity company has not lived up to expectations in the delivery of power to subscribers.
He highlighted issues such as such as extortion from consumers for installation of meters, and lack of power supply for many hours and days have persisted.
“This has led to increased consumption of generators as an alternative source of power for business which is expensive to maintain.
“As the voice in the business community, we urge AEDC to step down the proposed move and focus more on metering every structure in their franchise location to increase revenue.
“The company should also pay attention to improving the supply of power as it will help reduce inflation and improve the ease doing business,” Abubakar said.
