One month after President Bola Tinubu approved a 50 per cent electricity subsidy for public hospitals and educational institutions, the subsidy is yet to be implemented, according to reports from *Sunday PUNCH*.
The Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU) has expressed concern about the delay, stating that universities are still grappling with high electricity bills. The Secretary-General of the CVCNU, Prof Yakubu Ochefu, mentioned that there has been no official communication from the government regarding the subsidy, and universities continue to pay exorbitant bills.
In some cases, private individuals, chairmen of councils, and alumni associations have had to step in to help pay the monthly bills. Ochefu indicated that if the situation does not change by the end of the month, they will have to push for a meeting with President Tinubu to address the lack of compliance.
The electricity distribution companies had recently increased tariffs by 300 per cent for Band A customers, affecting several institutions, including universities and hospitals. Despite opposition from stakeholders like the Nigeria Labour Congress, the tariff hike has been implemented, leaving institutions struggling to pay their bills.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin and Chairman of the CVCNU, Prof Lilian Salami, highlighted that her university’s monthly electricity bill surged from N80 million to N280 million, making it difficult to keep up with payments.
Efforts to get a response from the spokesperson of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Usman Arabi, were unsuccessful. However, the Director of Information and Public Relations at the Ministry of Power, Mrs Dibiaezue-Eke Florence, promised to respond as soon as she receives full details on the situation.
