By Betty KHAZIKE
The All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, have differed sharply on President Bola Tinubu’s pledge to guarantee steady electricity supply or not reelected after four years if he fails to deliver.
The APC PCC on Sunday said the president has been quoted out of context.
However, Atiku has accused the PCC of seeking to obscure President Tinubu’s “unfulfilled electricity promise with a long recital of laws, committees, bonds and projects”.
In a statement on Sunday, Dele Alake, spokesperson of the campaign council, said Tinubu made the pledge during a meeting with the organised private sector in Lagos ahead of the election.
Alake said Tinubu, who was then the APC presidential candidate, spoke about how he would tackle the systemic and institutional problems that had bedevilled Nigeria’s power sector for more than five decades.
He said Tinubu specifically identified estimated billing as a major burden on households and businesses.
According to him, Tinubu promised to address the problem, alongside other challenges in the power sector, to ensure Nigerians have a stable and reliable electricity supply.
Alake quoted the president as saying: “Whichever way, by all means necessary, you will have electricity, and you will not pay for estimated bills anymore. A promise made will be a promise kept.
“If I don’t keep the promise and I come for a second term, don’t vote for me, unless I give you adequate reasons why I couldn’t deliver.”
He, however, said some recent public commentaries had reproduced the campaign promise without its concluding qualification that Tinubu would owe Nigerians an adequate explanation if he failed to deliver before seeking re-election.
But in a statement issued by Phrank Shaibu, Director of Strategic Communication of the ADC Presidential Campaign Council, Atiku said: “The APC should spare Nigerians the spectacle of celebrating paperwork while homes and businesses remain in darkness. After three and a half years, families still struggle to keep their homes lit.
“Traders and small business owners spend scarce resources on alternative power, yet struggle to keep their businesses alive. Nigerians are billed for electricity they cannot rely on. President Tinubu promised steady power and an end to estimated billing. That promise has not been kept.
“Across Nigeria, consumers are placed in Bands A, B, C, D and E and charged different rates. In many areas, Band A customers pay about ₦209.50 per unit before VAT. Rates for the other bands vary by state and electricity provider. Yet across every band, the same hardship endures: the power fails, but the bill arrives. No family should have to weigh the cost of electricity against the cost of food. No business should be left to pay more while receiving less.
“The government now says it plans to end electricity subsidies from 2027, even as it insists there will be no immediate tariff increase. Nigerians are entitled to a clear answer: what will happen to their bills when the subsidy ends?
“I will work with state governments and regulators, within the law, to abolish the present band system and replace it with a fair, transparent and affordable framework that protects households and holds power companies accountable for the electricity they deliver. Steady power that Nigerians can afford will be a national priority.
“When President Tinubu campaigned in 2022, he made an unmistakable commitment. He said: ‘If I don’t give you constant electricity for four years, when I come back for a second term, don’t vote for me.’ Nigerians have lived through those four years. They do not need his campaign council to interpret his words for them. They need him to answer for them.
“Dele Alake’s statement cannot light a home. Signing a law is not electricity. Raising a bond is not electricity. Approving a project is not power delivered. Nigerians cannot cook, study, work or sustain a business on announcements. President Tinubu invited Nigerians to judge him by his performance. They have done so. What they seek is simple: reliable electricity they can afford, and a government that keeps its word.”
