The Senate has assured Nigerians that it was doing necessary oversight activities to ensure that there is no hike in petroleum pump prices and electricity tariffs despite the falling value of the naira against major world currencies.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Yemi Adaramodu, gave the assurance in an interview with journalists in Abuja.

When questioned about the Senate’s response to concerns regarding potential increases in electricity tariffs and fuel prices due to high petroleum landing costs and the Federal Government’s indebtedness to electricity generating companies, he affirmed that the Senate is committed to preventing Nigerians from facing exorbitant costs for electricity and fuel.

It will be recalled that the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, had last week that Nigeria was not likely to sustain the current electricity subsidy.

He explained that the indebtedness of the country’s power sector to electricity-generating companies (GenCos) and gas companies (GasCos) had risen to over N3tn.

It has also been reported in the Media that due to the prevailing black-market rate of about N1,600 per dollar, the landing cost of petrol has soared to about N1,009 per litre, marking a substantial increase from N720 per litre recorded in October 2023.

Adaramodu said: “The issue of petroleum matter and that of power, especially the two, one, if you can just recall, the Senate, especially has instituted Committee probes into the activities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) and even the oil sector generally and then we are awaiting the reports.

“The reports will determine our own approach to what we are going to advise or what we are going to compel the executive to do about this issue.

“On the issue of power too, a Minister can come out and say whatever he would like to say, which is as it applies to his ministry but the minister is not the last voice on such issues.

“The presidency is there and even on our own side we have a committee solely responsible for power matters.

“Appropriately, those committees will swing into action and then, they will brief the Senate accordingly, and from their briefing, we would take a position

“When these committees swing into action, it’s not going to be the committee members alone that will be thinking and be talking.

“They are going to meet with very critical stakeholders and users of electricity, which are Nigerians, and users of petroleum products, which are Nigerians too, and then from there, we take it up.

“What I want to assure Nigerians is that the 10th Senate will not abandon them because it means that we have abandoned ourselves. We are not here on our own.

“There’s nothing that happens to one Nigerian that does not happen to us and because of that, we feel it even more than any other person because we are the very close people to our people.

“When they yawn, we feel the malaria and when they take even Panadol, we feel the relief,” he added.

The Senate spokesman also insisted that the Senate would intervene appropriately on the planned strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

He said, “On the issue of the NLC strike, we learned that the Federal Government has been meeting with them and yes, there’s an analogy, which I want to draw.

“When a child is crying for food, and the father is going up and down to ensure that food is provided for the child, if the child cries too much, by the time the food comes, the child will be too weak to eat the food. So it’s an analogy and I’m very sure that is what is taking place now.

“The NLC is meeting with the Federal Government. They will reach an agreement and then whatever agreement they reach, we expect that it will be expeditiously adhered to.

“Whatever is promised or pledged is or are given to the Nigerian workers, not only to the Nigerian workers, to the Nigerian populace as a whole so that we can have a very good lease of life and that life can go on peacefully economically manageably for our citizenry.

“That’s our hope and that’s our aim then we have already said it for the umpteenth time at the National Assembly, especially the 10th Senate, that whatever legislation that is necessary, that is needed to make life more abundant for our people, that we are ready to do that.

“We are ready to even stake so many things, including our own freedom and our welfare, to contribute to ensuring that Nigerians get what they bargain for, and what Nigerians bargain for is a good life and good living and peaceful environment and secure environment and an economically viable polity.” (The Nation)

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