Don’t Increase Power Tariff

Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Abdulwahed Omar, on Thursday cautioned the Electricity Regulatory Commission against increasing electricity tariff.

In a statement, Omar lamented that the cost of electricity had continued to rise with plans to review it upward before the end of the month.

He said it was worrisome that over the years, consumers had been subjected to illegal charges on meter maintenance, in addition to high tariffs.

Omar also urged President Goodluck Jonathan to tackle the problem of high cost of governance.

“The cost of governance has continued to weigh down the national economy. The president needs to take urgent step to address the issue of the remuneration of political office holders.

“Our legislators and elected public officers’ pay must reflect the reality of the average earnings in the economy,” he said.

Omar said that the National Salary Incomes and Wages Commission should do the fixing of salaries for political office holders to ensure that the guidelines used for all public sector employees were used.

He said it was pertinent to tackle the issue of corruption, pointing out that it had continued to hold back the nation from having any meaningful development.

“It is sad that as endowed as we are with human and natural resources, everything appears to be like a curse because of corruption,” he said.