Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola begs Nigerians to accept higher electricity tariffs

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has urged Nigerians to accept the increased electricity tariffs. Fashola further described the increment as a painful pill that citizens must swallow.
The minister made the comment on Monday, February 8, 2016, while speaking on the side-lines of a meeting with stakeholders in the power sector in Lagos.

“Importantly, I understand that people who have been disappointed over a long time will feel a sense of concern that again tariffs have gone up. But the truth is that these tariffs ought to have been there from day one. I don’t know why the government of yesterday was not courageous enough to tell us this was the price,” Fashola said.

“It is a painful pill that I must appeal that we swallow. It is like quinine and malaria. It’s painful; it’s not sweet, I know that, but I do it because we are not left with many choices. This is the first major decision in power that this administration has taken. There are other problems.

“I can only appeal for some understanding and some trust that we do this in the best interest of our country,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have conducted demonstrations around the country to protest the move.