Experts urge FG to stop N30 billion monthly electricity subsidy
Some financial analysts have urged the federal government to stop spending N30 billion monthly on electricity subsidy.
They argued that the removal of the subsidy would attract more investments into the sector.
They disclosed this on Monday while reacting to the monthly electricity subsidy of N30 billion by the government.
The former executive secretary of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Uju Ogubunka, urged the government to remove the subsidy and check excess tariffs by the operators.
“Removal of electricity subsidy will breed competition and reduce inefficiency in the system. The regulator should be concerned with managing tariffs abuse,” Mr Ogubunka said.
According to him, the government should intensify efforts to ensure the metering of more Nigerians to check abuse in the system.
He also called on political officeholders to be more innovative in addressing the electricity challenges to grow the economy.
Titus Okurounmu, a former Central Bank of Nigeria’s director, said the government could remove the subsidy but should not create another monopoly.
Mr Okurounmu added that the government should do more in harnessing other sources of energy in the country.
“Government should invest more in other energy sources so as to augment the inadequate electricity grid.
“Having these alternative sources are most times environmentally friendly and will reduce reliance on the existing electricity network,” he said.
Recently, the federal government said it spent N30 billion monthly on subsidising electricity in Nigeria.
It disclosed that the subsidy spend on electricity by N20 billion monthly following improvements in the collection of power tariffs by distribution companies.
The government stated this in a document on the progress and overview of Nigeria’s power sector by the Federal Ministry of Power in Abuja.
(NAN)
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