Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has advised<\/p>\n
Minister of Power, Mr. Babatunde Fashola to \u201censure that regulatory
\nauthorities are not allowed to get away with 45 percent increase in
\nelectricity tarrifs by promoting compliance with the November 2013 ruling
\non the matter by two UN special rapporteurs.\u201d<\/p>\n
This followed a nationawide protest on Monday by the Nigeria Labour
\nCongress and Trade Union Congress against the increase in electricity
\ntariffs, demanding an immediate reversal of the hike.<\/p>\n
In a statement today signed by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni
\nthe organisation said, \u201cNigeria is an important member of the UN and have
\nvoluntarily accepted its Charter and treaties. Therefore, any effort to
\nincrease electricity tarrifs should be guided by the recommendations by
\nthe UN and dialogue with organised labour and other stakeholders.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organisation noted that \u201cThe United Nations published the Joint Letter
\nof Concern sent to the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan in
\nwhich they expressed concerns that \u201caccess to electricity (and regularity
\nof supply) is a significant problem in Nigeria,\u201d and raised eight
\nquestions for the government to answer within 60 days.\u201d<\/p>\n
The letter with reference No NGA 5\/2013 and dated 26 November 2013, and
\nsigned by two special rapporteurs expressed concerns that \u201cat the end of
\n2012, Nigeria with a population of about 160 million people only generated
\nabout 4,000 megawatts of electricity, which is ten times less than some
\nother countries in the region with less population.\u201d<\/p>\n
The UN special rapporteurs argued that \u201call beneficiaries of the right to
\nadequate housing should have sustainable access to energy for cooking,
\nheating and lighting. The failure of States to provide basic services such
\nas electricity is a violation of the right to health.\u201d<\/p>\n
The rapporteurs Ms. Magdalena Sep\u00falveda Carmona, Special Rapporteur on
\nextreme poverty and human rights and Ms. Raquel Rolnik Special Rapporteur
\non adequate housing sent the letter following a petition lodged last year
\nby a coalition of human rights activists, labour, journalists and lawyers
\nled by SERAP. The petition alleged that increase in electricity tarrifs
\nwould \u201chave detrimental impact on the human rights of those living in
\npoverty in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Consequently, the special rapporteurs wanted
\nanswers to the following questions:<\/p>\n
1.Are the facts alleged by SERAP and others accurate?
\n2.What kind of impact assessments were conducted to gauge the potential
\nimpact of the electricity tariff increases on the human rights of people
\nliving in extreme poverty in Nigeria? If so, provide details
\n3.Did public consultations take place, including with potentially affected
\npersons and especially people living in extreme poverty? If yes, please
\ngive details of the dates, participants and outcomes of the consultations.
\n4.Was accessible and culturally adequate information about the measure
\nactively disseminated through all available channels prior to
\nconsultation?
\n5.What measures have been put in place to ensure that the human rights of
\npeople living in extreme poverty in Nigeria will not be undermined by the
\nincrease in electricity tariffs? In particular, what measures are in place
\nto ensure that they can enjoy their right to adequate housing, including
\nsustainable access to energy for cooking, heating and lighting, which is
\na component of this right?
\n6.Are there any accessible independent review or complaint mechanisms in
\nplace, such as administrative mechanisms through the NERC Power Consumer
\nAssemblies (PCA), available for individuals to challenge the
\nclassification of customers and\/or the corresponding tariffs? If such
\nmechanisms exist, please give details.
\n7.What mechanisms exist to ensure transparency, accountability and regular
\nmonitoring over the use of tariff revenue within the government? What
\nmechanisms are available to address allegations of corruption, or other
\ncomplaints? What mechanisms are in place to monitor and regulate service
\nprovision by private actors, as required under the State\u2019s duty to
\nprotect?
\n8.Please describe any existing policies or measures aimed to promote
\naffordability of electricity provision for people living in extreme
\npoverty. Are any subsidies already available and implemented? What is
\nbeing done to mitigate the hardship imposed by increased tariffs,
\nespecially for persons living in poverty?<\/p>\n
The special rapporteurs also wanted answers to the alleged \u201cmismanagement
\nthroughout the privatization process, and around 3.5 billion USD that has
\nbeen mismanaged annually over the last ten years, and a total of 16
\nbillion USD released to improve electricity supply in the country that has
\nnot been properly accounted for. The Business Units which have taken over
\nfrom the PHCN participate in large-scale corruption such as graft from
\nexorbitant consumer bills, rejection of payment to independent third
\nparties such as banks to keep management of funds secret, unprecedented
\ndisconnection of consumers\u2019 power lines, general bribery and fraud amongst
\nstaff, adding up to over NGN 1 billion extra charged to consumers
\nannually.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to them, \u201cThe increases in electricity tariffs, problems with
\nmeasuring electricity usage, lack of improvement in the quality of the
\nservice and lack of transparency in the use of funds, reportedly
\ndisproportionately impact on those with little disposable income, as well
\nas exacerbate the scarcity of energy supply for those who already cannot
\nafford electricity even if connected to the grid.\u201d<\/p>\n
They pointed to Nigeria\u2019s international obligations \u201cunder various
\ninternational human rights instruments and in particular: the
\nInternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR,
\nacceded to by Nigeria in 1993), the International Covenant on Civil and
\nPolitical Rights (ICCPR, ratified by Nigeria in 1993), the Convention on
\nthe Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW,
\nratified by Nigeria in 1985) and the African (Banjul) Charter on Human
\nRights and People’s rights (ratified by Nigeria in 1983).\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe human rights framework does not dictate a particular form of service
\ndelivery and leaves it to States to determine the best ways to implement
\ntheir human rights obligations. However, the State cannot exempt itself
\nfrom its human rights obligations when involving non-State actors in
\nservice provision. On the contrary, when non-State actors are involved in
\nservice provision, there is a shift to an even stronger focus on the
\nobligation of the State to protect,\u201d the special rapporteurs added.<\/p>\n
They further argued that, \u201cAs part of its obligation to protect, the State
\nmust safeguard all persons within their jurisdiction from infringements of
\ntheir rights by third parties. Involving non-State actors in service
\nprovision requires, inter alia, clearly defining the scope of functions
\ndelegated to them, overseeing their activities through setting regulatory
\nstandards, and monitoring compliance.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has advised Minister of Power, Mr. Babatunde Fashola to \u201censure that regulatory authorities are not allowed to get away with 45 percent increase in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19332,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n