{"id":116010,"date":"2025-07-27T10:45:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T14:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africatodaynewsnewyork.com\/?p=116010"},"modified":"2025-07-27T10:45:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T14:45:59","slug":"ex%e2%80%91nerc-chair-fg-may-scrap-power-subsidy-if-debt-soars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africatodaynewsnewyork.com\/2025\/07\/27\/ex%e2%80%91nerc-chair-fg-may-scrap-power-subsidy-if-debt-soars\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex\u2011NERC Chair: FG May Scrap Power Subsidy If Debt Soars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nigeria\u2019s electricity<\/a> subsidy could soon be scrapped if it continues to deepen the federal government\u2019s debt burden, according to former Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) chairman, Sam Amadi.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking on Sunrise<\/em>, a programme aired by Channels Television on Saturday, Amadi suggested that the government may be compelled to eliminate the subsidy as a cost-saving measure if the financial pressure persists.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, the Federal Government would likely do that [remove subsidy on electricity]. See, the Federal Government can become envious,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, if some states are bragging that, \u2018Oh, our tariff is low, we are doing better\u2019. Well, the Federal Government, as a fiscal authority, can say, \u2018You know what? Why should we be the ones looking bad owing?\u201d Amadi added.<\/p>\n

He, however, said that it would not be a wise thing for the government to do now, as developed countries also make use of subsidised energy consumption for their citizens.<\/p>\n

Amadi explained, \u201cThere\u2019s a big, emotive debate; most economists just take the ideological view that subsidy is bad. That\u2019s not true. You see, subsidy is always a part of a market. The question is: how do you provide a subsidy and where do you put it, and for what purpose?<\/p>\n

\n

Read also: Electricity Tariff: NLC To Picket DISCOs, NERC Offices Today<\/a><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cLook at Europe, look at the EU, look at all these countries. They are actually having strong subsidies for energy arising from the crisis in Russia or Ukraine, arising from the need to make a transition from energy source to another.<\/p>\n

\u201cSubsidy is always there. If you look at Canada, Ontario, when they were moving to renewable, there was so much subsidy to make sure the price was affordable. So the wrong economics that says a subsidy is bad is not true.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the question then is: the Federal Government can say, \u2018This is the amount of subsidy we can put, and this is how we can put it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also raised concerns about the country\u2019s failure to effectively utilise regulatory tools and the tendency to mask corruption under the guise of subsidies.<\/p>\n

Citing the Electricity Act, Amadi said it provided for a Power Consumer Assistance Fund, which required comprehensive data work to determine eligibility. He noted that proper implementation of such a mechanism demanded accurate data collection.<\/p>\n

According to him, distribution companies (DisCos) already administer certain forms of subsidies through energy efficiency measures and discounts on power, but stressed that such interventions must be transparent.<\/p>\n

Amadi argued that corruption was often concealed behind inflated subsidy claims. He explained that financial distortions\u2014such as the ballooning of debt figures due to currency devaluation\u2014were sometimes misrepresented as subsidy payments. He pointed out that if a debt originally valued at \u20a6100 billion jumped to \u20a6700 billion due to exchange rate changes, government should not classify the inflated portion as a subsidy.<\/p>\n

Africa Today News, New York<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nigeria\u2019s electricity subsidy could soon be scrapped if it continues to deepen the federal government\u2019s debt burden, according to former Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) chairman, Sam Amadi. Speaking on Sunrise, a programme aired by Channels Television on Saturday, Amadi suggested that the government may be compelled to eliminate the subsidy as a cost-saving measure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":116011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6928],"tags":[16376,13010],"class_list":["post-116010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature","tag-nerc","tag-subsidy","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nEx\u2011NERC Chair: FG May Scrap Power Subsidy If Debt Soars<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nigeria\u2019s electricity subsidy could soon be scrapped if it continues to deepen the federal government\u2019s debt burden, according to\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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