Nigerians Senators have demanded that President Bola Tinubu’s administration look into Nigerians’ current plight and “let the poor breathe” by refraining from worsening their suffering through increased electricity tariffs.

The federal lawmakers who made the demand during Tuesday’s plenary session of the Senate took turns to contribute to a motion titled “Need to Halt the Proposed Increase in Electricity Tariff by Eleven Successor Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos).”

The motion was jointly sponsored by Senators Akintende Yunus Abiodun, representing Oyo Central; Asuquo Ekpenyong, representing Cross River South; and Abbas Aminu Iya, representing Adamawa Central.

The motion elicited contributions from the senators who highlighted the economic challenges faced by ordinary Nigerians and the potential adverse effects that a tariff hike could impose on their already burdened livelihoods.

Senator Abiodun stated that the DisCos had applied to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to seek a “rate review” premised on “the need to incorporate changes in macro-economic parameters and other factors affecting the quality of service, operations and sustainability of the companies.”

Seconding the motion, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong echoed that the removal of fuel subsidy has adversely affected the general price of goods and services in the country “with a very high rate of pass-through inflation”.

He stressed the importance of implementing policies that promote inclusivity and address the challenges faced by the most vulnerable in society, rather than increasing electricity tariffs, which he said “will increase the problem of the inflation and compound Nigeria’sNigeria’s inflation crises”.

In his contribution, Cyril Fasuyi, the Senator representing Ekiti North Senatorial District, urged his colleagues to prevail on President Tinubu to “let the poor breathe” in line with his promise to the people by stopping the planned tariff hike.

In his remarks, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, thanked his colleagues for speaking in favour of vulnerable citizens after taking the voice vote: “Those who are in support of the additional prayer that the poor should be allowed to breathe should say ‘‘I’’, and those who are against, say nay…the Is have it.”