Don't Increase Utility Costs, The Senate Cautions The Nigerian Government...

 The Senate of Nigeria has cautioned the Federal Government against raising energy rates in any way, stating that doing so will make the situation worse for Nigerians. The warning was given by the upper house of parliament on Wednesday at a plenary session led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The Senate also passed a resolution requesting that its Committee on Power look into the Minister of Power's claims that over N2 trillion in subsidies were required, as well as the additional N1.3 trillion owed to electricity generation firms (GENCOs) and the $1.3 billion debt owed to gas companies.

Senators who had previously contributed to the motion voiced reservations regarding the proposed rise in the energy tariff and questioned whether the federal government was currently cognizant of the financial hardship and hunger that Nigerians were facing.

The upper parliamentary chamber was informed about the anticipated increase in energy tariffs through a resolution submitted by Senator Aminu Iya Abba and ten other MPs. The motion also included a warning that "doing at this time would have backlash."

The motion's sponsor also demanded that electricity providers cease charging unmetered consumers arbitrarily.

Aminu Tambuwal, a former governor of Sokoto State and Speaker of the House of Representatives, supported the resolution but cautioned the federal government, stating that it should address civilian hardships and hunger before considering raising energy rates. The Senate decided that, for the benefit of Nigerians, the Federal Government should halt the proposed increase in electricity rates.

They also decided that to prevent a repeat of the fuel subsidy fraud, "the Minister of Power should be investigated over the N2 trillion he said was needed for electricity tariff."