‘Electricity is expensive everywhere… Nigeria not a socialist state’ — Ajibola Basiru replies Obafemi Hamzat

Ajibola Basiru, the national secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says Nigeria does not operate under a socialist system where electricity production, transmission, and distribution are provided free of charge to citizens.

At a discussion between the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and the Lagos state government, on Tuesday, Obafemi Hamzat, deputy governor of the state, said his electricity bill skyrocketed from N2.7 million in March to N29 million in April.

He added that the electricity distribution company (DisCo) also “frustrated” his efforts to utilise the prepaid meter he procured.

Reacting to Hamzat’s comments on the Political Paradigm, a Channels Television programme, Basiru said Nigeria’s status as a globalised economy is reflected in its energy costs.

He noted that using the Lagos deputy governor’s situation as a benchmark for the experiences of ordinary Nigerians is not “valid”.

“Energy is not cheap anywhere in the world. Nigeria is not running a socialist society. Let us get it very right. We are in a globalised economy,” he said.

“As to the claim by the deputy governor of Lagos State, I don’t know the level of gadgets he has in his house. I wouldn’t know the size of his house and I wouldn’t know the energy requirement that would occasion that huge amount of money and the basis of that bill.

“But it would not be correct to say that that humongous amount would apply to ordinary Nigerians who just run their lifestyle based on watching television, using electricity, and possibly when there is heat, using air condition.”

He said the ruling APC has been making efforts to address this age-long infrastructure deficit in the energy sector.

“Of recent, the transmission companies have been unbundled to address the problem of inefficiency and for adequate focus to ensure there is electricity supply for Nigerians,” he said.

“You cannot pigeonhole people to say people spend N20,000 in a matter of days. What is the cost of generating, what is the cost of transmission? What is the cost of distribution?

“It should be run on the basis of economic efficiency so that the cost of production of the energy itself must be recovered and they must be able to make profit. We are not running a socialist economy.”