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Christmas: Operators accuse FG over unutilised electricity, rising costs of food items

Stakeholders have berated the federal government over the rising unutilised electricity in the sector days to Christmas New Year celebrations. This happens, as unutilised power rose to 3,018 megawatts weeks ago from 1, 080 in 2013, indicating an increase of 291 per cent in eight years. Speaking to the Saturday Telegraph on the issue, the National Coordinator, Coalition of Affordable Regular Electricity (CARE), Comrade Chinedu Bosah, said that Christmas and New Year is one year and should be celebrated with excitements, not sorrows caused by power failure. According to him, many areas are not without regular electricity, stressing that those areas, no doubt would be in darkness during the yuletide. He accused the government of turning the country into a generator nation, arguing that Nigerians would not have being suffering smokes from generators.

“Honestly, it is not a good testimony that the country is powered with generators. How on earth would Nigerians be hailing fumes from generators on the day of Christmas,” he queried. The government, Bosah said, has taken shine off the Christmas, as most people are forced to live on generators. “What about the low income earners, who cannot afford generators and fuel, which prices are rising as some marketers are making money fraudulently from selling petroleum products in the country, more so that Christmas and New Year is around,’’ he said.

On the rising cost of transportation, Bosah said that that is expected in the country, as Nigerians cash in on any available opportunities to make money. In a related development, the President, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr. Clement Isong, said there is never a time in Nigeria when cost of transportation is not high. He said transport fares are extremely high during the Yuletide, due to fears that there would be fuel scarcity in the country. He advised the federal government to improve on fuel supply, adding that the government should try and spend more on transportation and related sectors, after removing subsidy on fuel in 2022. He said that states need to play key roles in the transportation by investing on it. This, he said, would lessen the problems being faced by Nigerians in that regard.

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