Osinbajo

Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has said that the payment of higher electricity tariffs by Nigerians in the nearest future is inevitable.

Prof. Osinbajo who stated this on Monday at the 6th Presidential Business Forum for Private Stakeholders held in Abuja however assured Nigerians that the Federal Government would not increase the tariffs for now as it was holding talks with the World Bank over a scheme that would involve a fair amount of subsidy.

He said: “Listening to questions concerning lower tariffs, we must pay higher tariffs, these sort of things are inevitable. What we are trying to do is not increase but how we can ensure we clean up the entire value chain.

“I’m sure you are aware of the Payment Assurance Guarantee which we put in place for over ₦700 billion to ensure gas is paid for and for liquidity in the whole value chain.

“Today, we will be meeting with the World Bank on a scheme they have been working with us on how to fund the entire value chain and ensure we transit smoothly from where we are, to a much more market-determined policy for electricity.

“This will involve a fair amount of subsidy and help the federal government. We and the World Bank are working together on that. There is no way of sustaining the current subsidies long term, but we want to ensure the process is smooth.”