Power Minister Bayo Adelabu says the Nigerian government cannot continue to subsidise electricity costs for citizens, adding that poorer neighbouring countries like Mali, Togo, and Guinea pay double what Nigerians pay for electricity.

President Bola Tinubu-led government called for the scrapping of electricity subsidies through the minister of power. 

“I believe a lot of people will be ready to pay for electricity, whether at the current tariff or an increased tariff, because ultimately, we are going to migrate to the full cost-reflective tariff,” Mr Adelabu said. “Over the next three years, we should migrate. The government cannot continue to subsidise the cost of electricity.”

Mr Adelabu, at a meeting with stakeholders in the power sector during his visit to the corporate headquarters of Ikeja Electric in Lagos State on Thursday, said Nigerians pay far less than poor African neighbouring countries pay. 

“Guinea, Togo, Mali, Ivory Coast, and all the neighbouring countries that we have that are supposed to be poorer than Nigeria; they pay more than double what we pay here. I believe that our people will be ready once they are sure of reliable and consistent supply,” Mr Adelabu said.

Mr Adelabu has been adjudged as Nigeria’s worst minister of power over the country’s poor electricity supply nationwide.

His call for scrapping of electricity subsidy comes as Nigerians are lamenting economic hardship caused by petrol subsidy removal by President Bola Tinubu’s government. 

Mr Tinubu on assumption of office on May 29, 2023, announced fuel subsidy removal, a policy that saw petrol price jump from N145 to above N650. Consequently, cost of transportation tripled, causing food prices to swell. 

National Bureau of Statistics on Friday reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate hit 31.70 per cent in February 2024, a 1.80 per cent increase, from 29.90 in January. 

Market surveys by Peoples Gazette show that food prices have continued to spike since Mr Tinubu assumed last year, forcing Nigerians to hit the streets in protests against economic hardship.