Following the promise of two months waiver on electricity bills to Nigerian as pronounced by Distribution Companies (DisCos), electricity consumers in Abuja and other parts of the country demand clarification on how the bonus will be implemented.
The hullabaloo followed statements and declarations by different stakeholders in the electricity circle, pushing the consumers to demand the exact date and time when the free electricity for the said two months would take effect.
Accordingly, on Wednesday, Sunday Oduntan, the spokesperson of the Electricity Distribution of Nigeria (DisCos), revealed that the company have aligned with the federal government position to provide Nigerians with a two-month rebate of free of electricity nationwide to Nigerians.
Oduntan reiterated this was in line with the federal government idea of alleviating hardship during the lockdown of the COVID-19 on the economy of Nigerians.
However, one Sunday Okon, a consumer of electricity in Abuja was worried on the terms and modalities on how the said palliative was going to be actualised this include the precise date and condition surrounding the whole idea.
Another resident of Kaduna, Gabriel Onu, throws his weight behind the demand to ask whether those on the prepared meters would be part of the beneficiaries.
Similarly, Habibu Aliyu, a businessman in Suleija, Niger state said, the directive was still vague as some grey areas need to be clarified so as the direct beneficiaries are not left to guess, saying, we want to know the specifics because, in Nigeria, it is one thing for the government to pledge something and entirely different ball game to implement same.
Although there are 10 private DisCos in Nigeria all being managed by the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), when some of them were contacted, they revealed they would comply only when the federal government have shown a real commitment to foot the bill.
Meanwhile, others were of the opinion that as far as they were concerned, the bonus was only a proposal which was still subject to scrutiny.
In a tweet by the Speaker House of Reps @femigbaja, he said that engagements were in the pipeline with the electricity distribution company to work out the details of the stimulus package which was expected to touch every household in Nigeria.
“At a meeting between @nassnigeria and the minister of finance, @ZShamsuna and her team, I disclosed that @HouseNGR is considering a second stimulus bill that will provide Nigerians with free electricity supply for two months to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, the spokesman for the electricity distributors said in his statement on Wednesday that the details of the implementation of the free electricity would come soon, sources privy to the plan said there was no way the DisCos that were grappling with liquidity crisis would deliver without concrete arrangement.
