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Tariff Hike: Labour To Shutdown NERC Offices, DisCos Nationwide
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has instructed all its affiliates and state councils to mobilise members for picketing Nigerian Electricity Regulations Commission (NERC) offices and electricity distribution companies (DisCos) today.
This action is in response to NERC’s recent approval of a 240 percent electricity tariff increase for Band A consumers.
The directive was issued in a memo signed by the NLC acting Ag. General Secretary, Chris Uyot, over the weekend.
The document read: “In furtherance of CWC directive, we urge each affiliate to mobilise at least 150 members for the picketing of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and
“Further, affiliates are expected to direct state councils to mobilise members for effective participation at the state level.
The nationwide picketing is slated for Monday, 13th May 2024 and the convergence point is Labour House, Abuja. The time is 7:00 am prompt.”
In a recent letter dated May 3, whick was seen by DailySun, the Organised Labour asked NERC to immediately revert the tariff increase to N65/kwh and stop the practice of dividing electricity consumers into arbitrary bands.
They also called for the reinstatement of the authority of the statutes regulating operators in the electricity industry. Signed by NLC President Joe Ajaero and TUC President Festus Osifo, the letter was also sent to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Federal Minister of Labour and Employment, the Federal Minister of Power, and Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs).
The letter read: “This is to refer you to our May Day address where we expressed grave concerns regarding the recent announcement of an astronomical hike in electricity tariff across the nation from N65/kwh to N225/Kwh by your Commission.
“We believe that this decision is not just morally reprehensible considering the difficulties Nigerians are faced with currently, but it blatantly disregards fundamental principles and statutory obligations. It is a slap in the face of justice and fairness, and we will not stand idly by as the masses and workers are subjected to such unacceptable exploitation.
“As the Regulator of the Electricity sector, it is imperative that your Commission grasps the weight of its responsibilities. NERC’s role entails the regulation of electricity tariffs in the country, a duty outlined in explicit detail within the statutes governing the Commission. Yet, with this recent tariff hike which you have acquiesced, it is evident that the Commission has forsaken its duty and abandoned the people it was meant to protect to the fat cats in the electricity industry.
“We are miffed that NERC has become a tacit collaborator in crafting the oppressive pricing regime being perpetuated against Nigerian workers and people. The Laws that set up the Commission mandates it to act as an unbiased ombudsman in the electricity industry. Unfortunately, the reverse is the case as it has acted in cahoots with the Distribution Companies (DISCOs) and the Generating Companies (GENCOs) to promote their nefarious market practices.
”The announced tariff hike not only defies the established procedure mandated by law but also tramples upon the rights of Nigerian citizens. It is a flagrant abuse of power and a clear violation of the trust bestowed upon your Commission by Nigerian people. Such actions will not be “We give you until Sunday, the 12th day of May, 2024, to comply. Failure to do so will result in swift and decisive action on our part as we will not hesitate to mobilize our members and occupy all NERC’s offices and those of the DISCOs nationwide until justice is served.” tolerated, and we refuse to accept them as the new norm.
Nigerians may experience an increase in the prices of premium energy products diesel and petrol as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery temporarily halts the sale of petroleum products in Naira.
“This decision is necessary to avoid a mismatch between our sales proceeds and our crude oil purchase obligations, which are currently denominated in US dollars,” the company said in a statement yesterday.
The $20billion refinery based in Lagos said the sales of its products in Naira have exceeded the value of Naira-denominated crude it has received from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
“As a result, we must temporarily adjust our sales currency to align with our crude procurement currency,” the company explained.
The refinery said it remained committed to serving the Nigerian market and would resume the sale of its product to the local market in Naira as soon as it received crude cargoes from the NNPCL in Naira.
“As soon as we receive an allocation of Naira-denominated crude cargoes from NNPC, we will promptly resume petroleum product sales in Naira,” it said.
The announcement by the refinery comes amid its price war with the NNPCL.
As part of moves to reduce the strain on the US dollars, and guarantee price stability of petroleum products, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in July 2024, directed the NNPCL to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira and not in United States’ greenback.
In the beginning of March 2025, the NNPCL said its Naira-denominated crude sales agreement with the Dangote Refinery was structured for six months with March 2025 as the expiration date.
The state company, however, said that talks were on to replace the contract, and that over 48 million barrels of crude oil have been made available to Dangote Refinery since October 2024 under the Naira-denominated arrangement.
The NNPCL also said it had made over 84 million barrels of crude oil available to the private refinery since it commenced operations in 2023.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, faces energy challenges, with all its state-owned refineries non-operational for decades until 2024. The country was heavily reliant on imported refined petroleum products, with the state-run NNPCL being the major importer of the essential commodities.
Fuel queues are commonplace in the country. Prices of petrol more than quadrupled since the removal of subsidy in May 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, from around ¦ 200/litre to about ¦ 1,000/litre, compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles, and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.
Last December, the billionaire industrialist commenced operations at the facility situated in Lagos with 350,000 barrels a day. The refinery, which was initially bogged by regulatory battles, hopes to achieve its full capacity of 650,000 barrels per day by the end of the year. The refinery has begun the supply of diesel and aviation fuel to marketers in the country and now petrol.
Nigeria’s Quadri Aruna has overtaken Egypt’s Omar Assar to become Africa’s highest-ranked player in the world, now sitting at 18th in the week 12 ranking released on Tuesday.
Aruna moved up from 19th place in week 11 to 18th in the latest ranking, while Assar dropped from 17th to 19th.
Denmark’s Jonathan Groth took over Assar’s 17th place, moving up from 18th.
Despite finishing as runner-up at the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup, Aruna’s impressive performances at the WTT tournaments this year have boosted his ranking.
Aruna remains the only African male player to have reached the semi-finals of the WTT Contender Doha, repeating his 2023 feat earlier this year in January.
This achievement has propelled him ahead of Assar, who beat him to become the champion of the 2025 ITTF Africa Cup.
Aruna’s next tournament is the WTT Contender Chennai which serves off in India from March 23 to 20.
In the women’s singles, Egypt’s Hana Goda maintained her top spot in Africa, moving up one place to 26th in the week 12 ITTF ranking. Her compatriot, Dina Meshref, remained static at 33rd, holding her position as the second-best-ranked female player in Africa.
China’s Wang Chuqin retained his position as the second-best player globally, behind his compatriot Lin Shidong, who continues to hold the top spot. Japanese superstar Tomokazu Harimoto dethroned China’s Liang Jingkun as the third-best player in the world after his semifinal finish in Chongqing.
In the women’s ranking, the top five remained unchanged, with China’s Sun Yingsha holding onto her top spot after retaining her WTT Champions Chongqing title.
