OSBC Osun State Broadcasting Corporation
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC ) says it will mobilise workers to resist any attempts on hike in essential public utility charges .
Mr Ayuba Wabba , NLC President, gave the warning in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
Wabba said that Nigerians were still going through some of the worst socio- economic vicissitudes caused by the novel coronavirus disease .
The labour leader was reacting to the recent attempt by electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs ), acting under the auspices of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors ( ANED), to unilaterally increase electricity tariff by about 100 per cent from 1 st July 2020 .
He described the planned move as insensitive and provocative .
Wabba said that Nigerians would recall that a similar move was made in March 2020 by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC ) but was successfully rebuffed by the NLC and the Nigerian public .
According to him , NLC rejects any further hike in electricity tariff, the pump price of petrol and other essential public utility charges .
“The NLC is fully ready to mobilise our people to resist attempts by anyone to impose modern- day slavery on Nigerians , be they DISCOs or Regulators of Public Utilities.
“We insist that further hike in tariff and user access charges at this time of great socio – economic dislocation would be ultra – insensitive, callous and a pre- meditated attempt to send many Nigerians , workers , pensioners and businesses to untimely graves .
“In the interest of fairness , equity and justice, we demand that the DISCOs refund Nigerians all the estimated billings that had been unjustly collected from our people all these years .
“We also demand that DISCOs must pay consumers the cost that their inefficiency has imposed on citizens , residents and businesses .
DISCOs must also repay bailout funds they had unjustly collected from public coffers .
