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Tariff hike: FG begs workers as electricity union insists on strike

The Federal Government has appealed to members of the National Union of Electricity Employees not to down tools over the recent electricity tariff hike.
This is as the union insisted that they would withdraw their services should the government fail to rescind its decision on the removal of subsidy on the tariff payable by Band A customers.
The National President of the union, Adebiyi Adeyeye, in an interview with our correspondent on Sunday said the union stood by its warning to the Federal Government.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission had on April 3 raised the electricity tariff for customers enjoying 20 hours of power supply daily.
Customers in this category were said to be under the Band A classification and the increase raised their tariff to N225 per kilowatt-hour, from N66KWh.
In its earlier reaction, the union had warned the government to reverse the tariff hike saying, “If the government fails to address the crippling cost of electricity, NUEE will not hesitate to take strong action, including the swift withdrawal of our members expected to be used by DisCos to impose the tariff hike on the good people, to protect the livelihood of our members.”
Adeyeye said the supply of 20 hours of electricity is not feasible with the current infrastructure.
“We just want the citizen to know that this thing is not possible, it is not feasible, you cannot give what you don’t have. When we don’t have the energy to give to the people and you ask our people to go out and collect such money, you know it is dangerous. Most times we don’t disclose what to do to the public because our sector is very critical to the nation,” he stated.
While saying that the union has yet to give any ultimatum on strike, he stressed the NUEE is advising the government to do the needful “before we will withdraw our services”.
He explained, “The reason why we are saying this is simple, you ask our members to go the the public to collect 20-hour tariff from people that are not even experiencing a four-hour supply of electricity. There is no way there won’t be crises between our staff and those customers.
“We’ve recorded a lot of attacks on our members, even with the present situation. And these guys have nothing to defend themselves. They have targets to meet where there is no supply. Our members are being threatened by the DisCos, even when they know that what they are promising Nigerians is not feasible”.
He disclosed that the union must save its members from daily attacks, saying the hike would aggravate the attacks.
“We told our members that they cannot go out and collect that kind of tariff from unmetered customers. More than 70 per cent of these Band A customers are not metered. The government is just promising what we don’t have. We are the ones working there, we know we don’t have the transformers to distribute such load. 20 hours of electricity is not possible except for those on eligible lines. We were not carried before the tariff hike,” the union leader emphasised.
Adeyeye, who said the union would not accept any threat from anyone said, “On the issue of strike, it is not what we normally do directly. We said it that we would withdraw our services if the government fails to do the needful, and we are still under that ‘if’. They still have time to do the needful. It is very difficult for us to collect such money. We don’t have the equipment to supply even 10 hours of electricity to the people.
“We stand on our point, and they can’t bring people from anywhere to come and do this work. We Nigerians will do this work ourselves and heaven will not fall. If they fail to do the needful, we will withdraw our members, and we will never accept any threat from anybody. Nigeria belongs to all of us”.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has urged the union not to withdraw its members.
In an interview, Adelabu, who spoke through his media aide, Bolaji Tunji, said the government was doing everything to improve supply in Nigeria and everybody will be happy at the end of the day.
“We just want to appeal to the labour union to understand what led to this. This is not about strike. it is about understanding; so that we can all work together. It is not anybody’s joy that there are blackouts all the time. These steps are being taken to solve the problems in the power sector. I beg the labour union to understand that this will galvanise the economy and create jobs.
“I want to appeal to the union to bear with us. It is for the good of the nation,” he stated.
News
NNPC Trading Limited MD appointed as Nigeria’s OPEC representative
We congratulate Maryamu Idris, Managing Director of NNPC Trading Limited, on her appointment as the National Representative for Nigeria at the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Trading Limited says that its Managing Director, Maryamu Idris , has been appointed as Nigeria’s National Representative to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
NNPCL announced the development on its X handle on Wednesday, and said Idris’s new role marks a pivotal step in representing Nigeria’s interests within the influential cartel of oil-producing nations.
“We congratulate Maryamu Idris, Managing Director of NNPC Trading Limited, on her appointment as the National Representative for Nigeria at the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC),” the statement read.
The corporation hailed her achievements in many capacities in the oil sector.
Maryamu’s extensive experience in the energy sector includes leading Pricing and Valuation efforts within NNPC’s Crude Oil Marketing Division and serving as a Technical Advisor to Nigeria’s OPEC Delegation.
She also played a foundational role in Nigeria’s engagement with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and contributed to oil sector reforms through her work with the Bureau of Public Enterprises and the Oil and Gas Implementation Committee (OGIC).
News
FIRS loses 4 senior staff in Lagos Afriland Towers Fire
The deceased staff were identified as Mrs. Ekelikhostse George, Assistant Director; Mr David Sunday-Jatto, Assistant Director; Mrs. Nkem Onyemelukwe, Senior Manager; and Mr. Peter Ifaranmaye, Manager.

The Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS) has confirmed the death of four of its senior staff members in the fire incident that gutted Afriland Towers on Broad Street, Lagos, on Tuesday.
The deceased staff were identified as Mrs. Ekelikhostse George, Assistant Director; Mr David Sunday-Jatto, Assistant Director; Mrs. Nkem Onyemelukwe, Senior Manager; and Mr. Peter Ifaranmaye, Manager.
In a statement confirming the incident, Mr Dare Adekanmbi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS chairman, said that the victims were trapped while on duty at the two FIRS offices located on the sixth and seventh floors of the building when the inferno broke out.
“Our Security and Safety officials quickly mobilized and contacted the fire service as soon as they were alerted. On getting to the scene, thick dark smoke was already billowing out of the building.
“The Management and entire staff are in deep shock and sorrow over the development,” he said.
News
JUST IN: President Tinubu lifts state of emergency in Rivers, as Fubara prepares to resume duty

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has lifted the state of emergency imposed on Rivers State, restoring full democratic governance six months after suspending the Governor, Deputy Governor and State House of Assembly members.
In a statement on Tuesday, President Tinubu said the emergency, declared on 18 March 2025, had become “painfully inevitable” after a constitutional crisis paralysed governance in the state. He recalled that disputes between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly had left critical economic assets vulnerable and halted budget approvals.
Tinubu said his intervention under Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution was to “arrest the drift towards anarchy” after mediation attempts failed. “Considered objectively, we had reached that situation of total breakdown of public order and public safety in Rivers State … it would have been a colossal failure on my part as President not to have made that proclamation,” he said.
The President thanked the National Assembly, traditional rulers and the people of Rivers State for their support throughout the emergency. He also acknowledged dissenters who challenged the declaration in court, saying such actions were “the way it should be in a democratic setting.”
Tinubu noted a “groundswell of a new spirit of understanding” among stakeholders in Rivers State and said the conditions that necessitated the emergency no longer existed.
“With effect from midnight today, the emergency in Rivers State shall end,” he announced. “Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, including Speaker Martins Amaewhule, will resume work in their offices from 18 September 2025.”
He urged governors and state legislatures nationwide to prioritise harmony and peaceful governance. “It is only in an atmosphere of peace, order and good government that we can deliver the dividends of democracy to our people,” he said.
STATEMENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY, BOLA AHMED TINUBU, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, ON THE CESSATION OF THE STATE OF EMERGENCY IN RIVERS STATE
My Fellow countrymen and, in particular, the good people of Rivers State.
I am happy to address you today on the state of emergency declaration in Rivers State. You will recall that on 18th March, 2025, I proclaimed a state of emergency in the state. In my proclamation address, I highlighted the reasons for the declaration.
The summary of it for context is that there was a total paralysis of governance in Rivers State, which had led to the Governor of Rivers State and the House of Assembly being unable to work together.
Critical economic assets of the State, including oil pipelines, were being vandalised. The State House of Assembly was crisis-ridden, such that members of the House were divided into two groups. Four members worked with the Governor, while 27 members opposed the Governor.
The latter group supported the Speaker. As a result, the Governor could not present any Appropriation Bill to the House, to enable him to access funds to run Rivers State’s affairs. That serious constitutional impasse brought governance in the State to a standstill.
Even the Supreme Court, in one of its judgments in a series of cases filed by the Executive and the Legislative arms of Rivers State against each other, held that there was no government in Rivers State.
My intervention and that of other well-meaning Nigerians to resolve the conflict proved abortive as both sides stuck rigidly to their positions to the detriment of peace and development of the State.
It therefore became painfully inevitable that to arrest the drift towards anarchy in Rivers State, I was obligated to invoke the powers conferred on me by Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, to proclaim the state of emergency.
The Offices of the Governor, Deputy Governor, and elected members of the State House of Assembly were suspended for six months in the first instance. The six months expire today, September 17th, 2025.
I thank the National Assembly, which, after critically evaluating the justification for the proclamation, took steps immediately, as required by the Constitution, to approve the declaration in the interest of peace and order in Rivers State.
I also thank our traditional rulers and the good people of Rivers State for their support from the date of the declaration of the state of emergency until now.
I am not unaware that there were a few voices of dissent against the proclamation, which led to their instituting over 40 cases in the courts in Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Yenagoa, to invalidate the declaration.
That is the way it should be in a democratic setting. Some cases are still pending in the courts as of today. But what needs to be said is that the power to declare a state of emergency is an inbuilt constitutional tool to address situations of actual or threatened breakdown of public order and public safety, which require extraordinary measures to return the State to peace, order and security.
Considered objectively, we had reached that situation of total breakdown of public order and public safety in Rivers State, as shown in the judgment of the Supreme Court on the disputes between the Executive and the Legislative arm of Rivers State. It would have been a colossal failure on my part as President not to have made that proclamation.
As a stakeholder in democratic governance, I believe that the need for a harmonious existence and relationship between the executive and the legislature is key to a successful government, whether at the state or national level.
The people who voted us into power expect to reap the fruits of democracy. However, that expectation will remain unrealizable in an atmosphere of violence, anarchy, and insecurity borne by misguided political activism and Machiavellian manipulations among the stakeholders.
I am happy today that, from the intelligence available to me, there is a groundswell of a new spirit of understanding, a robust readiness, and potent enthusiasm on the part of all the stakeholders in Rivers State for an immediate return to democratic governance.
This is undoubtedly a welcome development for me and a remarkable achievement for us. I therefore do not see why the state of emergency should exist a day longer than the six months I had pronounced at the beginning of it.
It therefore gives me great pleasure to declare that the emergency in Rivers State of Nigeria shall end with effect from midnight today. The Governor, His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara, the deputy governor, Her Excellency Ngozi Nma Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the speaker, Martins Amaewhule, will resume work in their offices from 18 September 2025.
I take this opportunity to remind the Governors and the Houses of Assembly of all the States of our country to continue to appreciate that it is only in an atmosphere of peace, order, and good government that we can deliver the dividends of democracy to our people. I implore all of you to let this realisation drive your actions at all times.
I thank you all.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR
President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
Federal Republic of Nigeria
State House, Abuja
September 17, 2025
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