Victor Akinkuolie Ado-Ekiti

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The National President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Com. Sunday Asefon, has warned the federal government against revisiting the suspended hiked electricity tariff to avert stiff resistance from students across the nation.
Asefon declared that the suspension of the tariff by the federal government would go a long way in relieving the pains it would have inflicted on electricity consumers upon implementation.
The students’ leader, said the earlier conception of such policy under a groaning inflation in the system was anti-people and ill-timed, saying putting the implementation in abeyance will help in pacifying the already incensed consumers.
The NANS President, said it was sad and repulsive for Federal Government to have contemplated such a policy in the first instance, at a time the citizens were experiencing excruciating economic depression and insecurity.
He said NANS took the decision to commend the suspension after extensive deliberations and review at its virtual meeting of January 8, 2021, of the recent action taken by President Buhari, intervening and ordering the suspension of the outrageous electricity tariff.
Asefon in a statement to newsmen on Sunday in Ado-Ekiti, said inflicting pains on the people by way of forcing them to pay outrageous prices for services that never gave them values for their monies, substantiated the fact that something was definitely wrong with Nigerian policy makers.
The NANS leader commend the National Electricity Regulatory Agency(NERC) for reversing the action, saying NANS could have been provoked to organise a mother of all protests across all campuses, in opposition to the policy, if effected .
Asefon said: “That NANS had earlier rejected the hike in the electricity tariff as we believe that the hike was insensitive, ill-timed and anti-people. We commend President Buhari for hearkening to the agitations of Nigerians.
“That other nations of the world are doing everything possible to ease the economic challenges occasioned by COVID-19 on its citizens through various interventions and benefits. The Nigerian government must not do the opposite by making things more difficult for its citizens during this hard time.
Asefon appealed to the distribution companies to make prepaid meters available for every household at no extra cost to the consumers as being witnessed in civilised climes.
“In accomplishing the aforementioned resolutions, NANS will not hesitate to collaborate with other civil society organizations to ensure that we meet with the federal government on how to distribute prepaid meters to all electricity consumers.
“We trust the government to do the right thing by ensuring compliance with the reversal of this anti-people policy, and should do more in alleviating the suffering of Nigerians as a result of the global pandemic COVID-19.
“We, therefore, call on our members across the country to suspend action and see how the compliance with the reversal will be to inform us on the next line of action.”