Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has criticised the rising cost of electricity in Nigeria, saying citizens are being made to pay more for services that are not being delivered.
Falana made the remarks on Friday during an interview, a programme on Channels Television, where he spoke on the country’s worsening power supply situation.
The senior advocate accused electricity distribution companies of repeatedly increasing tariffs despite poor service delivery, warning that Nigerians are being shortchanged.
According to him, the privatisation of the power sector has not yielded the expected improvements, noting that huge public funds have continued to be injected into the system without commensurate results.
“Somebody sold 18 electricity companies, according to a former minister under the Jonathan administration,” he said.
“Now the government has been giving again a lot of trillions of naira to the electricity companies. At the end of the day, you hear of Band A, Band B, and others, yet people are paying more for services that are not rendered.
“But we have reached a stage where we must ask questions. Electricity companies are planning to increase their tariffs again. This time, they will have to justify it because under the Electricity Act, tariffs can only be increased if there is improvement in service,” Falana added.