The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, on Thursday apologised to Nigerians for saying that they keep freezers on for days due to low electricity tariff.
Grassroots Parrot recalls how the minister on April 4, 2024 told journalists in Abuja that Nigerians lack the culture of electricity consumption management because of “cheap” power supply.
Thereafter, Adelabu came under fire by many Nigerians in the last one week for his comment which was considered offensive. The comment generated outrage with some persons calling for his removal.
The minister, while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, said “Anything we have said that are considered offensive, we are sorry about that.”
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However, Adelabu, on Thursday, expressed regret over his comment, saying it “was never intended to insult the sensibilities of Nigerians in anyway”.
“It was an innocent advice with regards to energy consumption management which we believe will go a long way in reducing people’s energy bills.
“And that advice was directed at those that we believe that because of the recent increase in tariff will start enjoying 20 hours of power per day,” he said.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had on April 3, 2024 raised electricity tariff for customers enjoying 20 hours power supply daily. Customers in this category are said to be under the Band A classification.
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The increase will see the customers paying N225 kilowatt per hour from the current N66, a development that has been heavily criticised by many Nigerians, considering the immediacy of the tariff hike and the current hardship in the land.
The minister subsequently said the new electricity tariff hike would only affect only 1.5 million of the about 12 million consumers in the sector.
