The federal government moved to shut down reports of an imminent electricity tariff increase, saying no rate hike is planned for any consumer band and that subsidies for lower-usage households will continue.
Sadiq Wanka, special adviser to the President on Power Infrastructure in the Office of the Vice President, said in a signed statement Friday that recent media coverage had misrepresented remarks he made at an industry event in Lagos on July 22.
“There is no planned tariff hike for any grid consumer across any service band,” the statement said, adding that the government “remains committed to protecting vulnerable households through continued tariff support.”
The clarification follows comments Wanka delivered at the Asharami Square 3.0 conference, where he discussed investment opportunities opened up by the Tinubu administration’s power-sector reforms.
According to the statement, he used the occasion to reaffirm, not announce, tariff policy already set out in the National Integrated Electricity Policy, a document finalised in December 2024 and approved by the Federal Executive Council in May 2025.
That policy lays out a gradual shift toward cost-reflective pricing, a transition currently limited to so-called Band A customers, typically urban users who receive at least 20 hours of power daily.
For all other bands, the statement said, Wanka was explicit that the government has no plan to strip out subsidies. Instead, officials are looking at how to make existing support more efficient and better targeted.
Central to that effort is the Power Consumer Assistance Fund, a mechanism created under the Electricity Act 2023 to channel subsidies directly to vulnerable consumers, either through their electricity accounts or other identity-linked systems.
The statement framed the fund as a way to improve transparency in subsidy delivery and shore up investor confidence in a sector that has struggled for decades with underinvestment, currency mismatches, and inconsistent cost recovery.
The statement also nodded to the media’s role in shaping public understanding of the policy, saying the administration backs platforms such as Asharami Square that aim to help journalists convey “the full context of complex policy discussions.” It closed by saying the government “counts on the continued support of the media in this important national duty.”
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