Some financial analysts have urged the federal government to remove electricity subsidies to attract more investments into the sector.

They said this in reaction to the monthly electricity subsidy of N30 billion by the government.

“Removal of electricity subsidy will breed competition and reduce inefficiency in the system. The regulator should be concerned with managing tariffs abuse,” former executive secretary of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Uju 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 office holders to be more innovative in addressing the electricity challenges to grow the economy.

A former Director of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Titus Okurounmu, said the federal government could remove the subsidy, but not create another monopoly.

“Government should invest more in other energy sources 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 that the amount spent on subsidising electricity every month in Nigeria is now about N30 billion.

It disclosed that the government’s subsidy on electricity has been reduced 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.