The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has advised its affiliates to prepare for a possible statewide protest against recent telecommunications service rate increases and projected electricity band relocation plans.
The Labour Centre’s National Executive Council (NEC) met in Yola, Adamawa State, to make the decision.
The current development came after Congress questioned the government’s willingness to implementing an earlier deal made on February 21, 2025, through a Joint 10-Man Committee, which cut the anticipated telecommunications tariff hike from 50% to 35%.
The labour centre warned that it would not hesitate to take action if the agreement’s execution fell short of its expectations.
The NLC has also opposed the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) plan to reclassify electricity customers under the guise of improving service quality.
According to Congress, this tactic is a thinly veiled attempt to impose unjustifiable tariff increases by forcing consumers to switch from lesser bands to the more expensive Band A.
In a release, NLC President Comrade Joe Ajaero and General Secretary Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja referred to the move as “economic violence.”
The NLC accused NERC and the Ministry of Power of exploiting suffering Nigerians.
The lawmakers warned that any further increases in electricity costs will result in countrywide protests. It emphasized that workers and the masses should not bear the brunt of the government’s fiscal policies.
The communique begins with the following information: “NEC categorically warns that should the implementation of the agreement on March 1, 2025, be not as agreed, the National Administrative Council (NAC) is mandated to immediately deploy all necessary instruments to enforce compliance in line with the February 10, 2025, Central Working Committee (CWC) directive.”
“On the migration of electricity consumers to higher tariffs, the NEC categorically rejects the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) ongoing sham reclassification of electricity consumers, which seeks to forcefully migrate consumers from lower bands to Band A under the guise of service improvement while, in reality, imposing unjustified extortion on the masses.
“This systematic exploitation, sanctioned by the Ministry of Power, is nothing short of economic violence against the working class and the broader Nigerian populace.”
The NLC NEC reaffirmed the working class’s historical responsibility to oppose all forms of exploitation and oppression, and it urged all affiliates, industrial unions, and progressive allies to remain vigilant and fully prepared to engage in decisive mass action against all state anti-people policies.
