Following a meeting at the State House, Abuja on Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari and the leadership of the National Assembly have agreed to delay the planned hike in electricity tariffs.

The hike had been slated to take off on Wednesday July 1, 2020 going by the announcement made by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

But speaking to State House correspondents after meeting separately with President Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, affirmed that the effective date of the hike has to be postponed.

According to Gbajabiamila, both President Buhari and Osinbajo were on the same page with the National Assembly leadership on the deferment of the hike given the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the people.

The Speaker said: “I will like to say that I think we have all agreed on an increase in cost reflective tariff but the issue is that the timing is also important. Sometimes, timing is more important than even the policy decision that you make.

“There is a saying that the road to hell is often paved with good intentions. So the intentions is good but what about the timing?

“We have all agreed to suspend this for a while, tarry a while and get the buy-in of the people, explain to the people why this has to be done, that it is for the betterment for the electricity to get stable.”

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