Energy Tariff: Nigerians need to be realistic, says Sen Eze
Senator Kenneth Emeka Eze, who represents Ebonyi Central Senatorial District on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation. In this interview with CHUKWU DAVID, he speaks on a number of critical national issues, including the proposal by the Minister of Education to make entry age into tertiary institutions 18 years, and the recent increase in electricity tariff, among other issues.
The Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, wants the entry age of UTME candidates into tertiary institutions in Nigeria to be pegged at 18 years, a position that most Nigerians consider to be retrogressive and inimical to the progress of the children. What is your reaction to this?
I may not know the reason by the Minister of Education, for advocating for such a policy, trying to peg an age limit. I know that when it comes to the National Assembly, we definitely have to debate it, and by then we have to know his reason. But I know that in education, academic performance depends on individuals. If, for instance, a child has a very high intellectual ability, you cannot use the age limit to keep that child out of school. So, it depends on the child’s performance; it depends on what that child can do. There are people who are more intelligent than others. You cannot use the age limit to retard a child’s progress in education by forcing a child who has passed a certain level to stay at home until he attains a particular age before resuming school in a tertiary institution. That is not good at all, and I don’t think that it is going to be obtainable. If and when the matter comes to the National Assembly, we are going to look at it and know what is best for Nigerians and give our support to only what will lead to the progress and happiness of our people. We are the representatives of the people and we will only do what is in their best interest.
While the National Assembly was on recess, the federal government, through its regulatory agency, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), increased electricity tariff beyond the reach of most Nigerians. What’s your take on this?
Well, it is one of those issues that are nagging in the system because when you engage the operators of this electricity billing, when you hear from them, it will look as if it is justified. But on the side of the masses, considering the challenges, the economic downturn, you will just know that it is not the right time to begin to talk about increment in tariff. But in order to continue the energy generation and supply, the operators will tell you that they lack funds to do the basic things in order to sustain the supply of electricity. So, we have to be very pragmatic about it and look at both sides of the matter, because it is really a very difficult situation. However, I am happy that the National Assembly is already looking at the matter. The Senate is already intervening by engaging the critical stakeholders to see how to ameliorate the sufferings of the people because not many people can afford to buy electricity in Nigeria today. But at the same time, it is better to say that we have steady electricity distributed to the masses and then pursue money to pay the bills than not having it and be in total blackout. So, that’s the challenge before us. When you discuss with the operators, they will tell you that if they continue with the same billing, it will come to a point where there will be no supply of electricity, and that the industry cannot just be sustained. And mind you, the industry is being driven by the private sector. They need to pay their own bills, pay their staff and generate as well as distribute electricity to Nigerians. So, you can see that it is a two-way thing. You cannot condemn it outrightly, and we are working closely with them to see how we can ameliorate the suffering of the poor masses, so that they can equally enjoy the electricity.
If the current electricity tariff is allowed to stay, no Nigerian worker with the present minimum wage can afford to buy electricity in the country. What do you think that the government can and should do in the short run to salvage the situation?
Of course, you can agree with me that there are many intervention measures, palliatives, including the increment in the workers’ salary by the federal government. Various State governments have also increased their tariffs at different levels. So, these are the immediate interventions by the government to see how they can ameliorate the problems. The problems have been there as I earlier on said. It is accumulated problems that we are grappling with. They did not just start with this administration. It is just that it is happening now. Mind you, all the while the problems are being managed and you cannot sustain a system that does not have a firm foundation. The point remains that, Nigerian economy has been surviving on borrowing. It is being sustained by debt. And there is no economy that can be sustained by borrowing to fund all government projects and programmes, including salaries of workers. It cannot work. And this government has said no, Nigeria cannot continue to live a fake life, because what has been indulged all this while is living a fake life. Even the exchange rate of Naira to Dollar was a virtual one. Now, we are trying to determine the actual exchange rate. And that is why you are seeing the instability in the forex market. Now, by the time the oil comes on stream; am hopeful that Port Harcourt refinery will soon come on stream and some manufacturing industries get revived. Naturally, the forces of demand and supply can stabilise the market and it will have a ripple effect on all these sectors including the civil servants you mentioned, and Naira will begin to appreciate, and as it begins to gain value you find out that this Naira that is being paid to works will now have more purchasing power, and that means that their lives will get better.
The problems currently confronting Nigeria are enormous and appear to be insurmountable. Do you see the present administration under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, taking Nigeria out of these woes, and what are the indices?
Yes, I am optimistic, that if given the enablement and the necessary support by Nigerians, that he will take us out of this quagmire. If you look at his speeches since he assumed office, you will notice that he has made promises, that he would bring the necessary changes that would transform our system. You will understand that he knows the problems of this country because one thing is about knowing the problem; once you know the problem, you can provide solutions. If you know the problem, you will research for the solution and administer it to the problem. A lot of people are crying about the removal of fuel subsidy. Some people are saying that he would have waited for refineries to start working before removing the subsidy. People should understand the problem of fuel subsidy, and that is one of the things that breed corruption in the system. If you go into the reason why fuel subsidy was removed, you will appreciate Mr. President for having the courage to remove the subsidy. If that fuel subsidy was not removed, the country was already running into serious debt, that Nigeria would not have money to even pay workers’ salary and also run other services the government is saddled with. The States were even affected because it is when money is shared that all the tiers of government can have money to carry out their statutory functions. And it is when you sell crude oil that you get revenue to share to the three tiers of government. It is this revenue that goes to the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). Now, the question is, after paying, what amount is left in this revenue to pay as subsidy? It was getting to a point where almost all the revenue generated from our crude oil was being plunged back in paying for subsidy, leaving the government with very little to run the affairs of the country. That’s what prompted the immediate removal of the subsidy. I tell you, the revenue base of different agencies of government is growing, because more money is being saved now from the subsidy removal and plunged back into the system, by sharing it among the local, state and federal governments. If you ask your local government, they will tell you that the amount of revenue they are getting now has tripled what they were getting before under the subsidy regime. Before, it was going down. Sometimes, you hear that they have gone to borrow money in order to have money to share with the three tiers of government. Before, we were taking money from the reserves to share as allocation. Now we are beginning to grow our reserve and still have enough to share among the three tiers of government, to run the administration and render services to the people.
So, if Nigerians can have patience, we are going to overcome these challenges and begin to enjoy. People keep asking why the refineries are not working? The refineries lack maintenance, and it was grounded to a halt. It has been the intention of many governments to repair the refineries, but each time they came up with such a wonderful idea of doing a turn-around maintenance, they would not have enough money to do it. Initially, contractors would be mobilised but when they come for a second payment, what they will hear is that there is no money. Then the contractors will remain on sight and later pull out. Therefore, the only option left for the government is to resort to quick means of getting fuel from outside the country, so that the country won’t run into shortage of fuel supply. And if you check the cost of importing this fuel, if you want to sell to Nigerians at that cost, it will be very difficult for them to afford. That is how the government decided to subsidise it, with a lot of revenue going into it. Now, this present government has decided that we need our refineries to be working and we need to save and generate money for fixing the refineries, so that we can reduce importation. That is why I am asking Nigerians to be patient with President Tinubu and his team, to fix our system. When this is done, the free fall of the Naira will be resolved.
The National Assembly has just returned from its recess that lasted for 40 days. What should Nigerians expect from the Senate?
Thank you very much. Going for recess afforded us the opportunity to meet with our Constituents. It also gave us the opportunity to communicate with them and interact with them on different issues, especially to let them know what the government is doing for the country generally and to also let them know what we in the National Assembly are also doing to complement the efforts of the Executive arm of government. And it was all good for them and for us their representatives because communication is very important. Sometimes, people are being misled due to lack of information. For instance, we have now educated them on the importance of the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu. People chastised the government, spoke ill of the government for removing the fuel subsidy because they didn’t know that if that subsidy was not removed, by now government would not have money to run the affairs of the government including to pay workers’ salary. But the removal has given the government the opportunity to have more than enough to run the affairs of the country, especially the three tiers of government, starting from the local government, the State and the federal. And looking at what is happening in the forex market, we cannot say that we have gotten it right but we are heading towards getting it right.
You are marking your birthday today, being Tuesday April 30, which is also your day of resumption. It was learnt that your staff packaged this as a surprising gift to you. How do you feel about this?
Thank you very much. Definitely, one will feel great, especially with the way and manner in which it was done. I was never expecting it because I actually did a very low-key celebration on the 14th of April. And that was when we were on recess. So, coming to the National Assembly and seeing my workers and wellwishers organizing this birthday today is really very encouraging and I am so happy about that. And I want to extend my warmest greeting to all those that have put this thing together. Honestly, it’s unprecedented. I am not the birthday type; it’s only my wife that sometimes reminds me of my birthday, and the same thing happened on 14th of April. And I could say that it is quite awesome that my workers, my aides and some Senator colleagues have organised this event.
You are the Chairman, Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation. What message do you have for the public?
Well, with respect to my birthday, you can observe that it is a very low key one. The economic situation in the country does not warrant any celebration. And that is why I said that I did a very low-key celebration on the 14th of April. And my message to the general public is that there is hope; there is light at the end of the tunnel. What we are experiencing today is an accumulation of problems that have been there for a very long time. It did not just start with this administration. However, this administration has decided to take bold steps in addressing the backlog of problems plaguing our dear country. And I can tell you that we are getting it right. All we need to do is to give President Bola Tinubu and the entire economic team time and requisite support to explore all they have in addressing the enormous problems confronting Nigeria and Nigerians.
