Tariff: Court warns FG, DISCOs against subsisting orders
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos,
yesterday, warned the Federal Government and Distribution Companies, DISCOs,
against disobeying subsisting court orders on electricity tariff.
Also, Trade Union Congress, TUC, and union
affiliates, with placards, yesterday, at the premises of the Federal High
Court, Lagos, protested the hike in electricity tariff by Nigerian Electricity
Regulatory Commission, NERC and DISCOs.
Trial judge in the matter, Justice Mohammed
Idris, at the resumed hearing in the matter, yesterday, said government must
not act in a way that shows disdain for the court in a constitutional
democracy.
Justice Idris said: “The point must be made
that obedience to the rule of law by all citizens is sacrosant, but more
particularly those who publicly take the oath of office to protect and preserve
the constitution is panacea to good governance and respect for rule of law. In
a constitutional democratic society like ours, this is meant to be the norm.
“It is an act of apostacy for government to
ignore the provisions of the law and the necessary rules meant to regulate
matters. I must say it loud and clear that the government of this country shall
be a government of laws and not of men.”
Labour
unions protest
Protests by labour unions have trailed the
new power tarriff approved by NERC.
Activist and lawyer, Mr Toluwani Adebiyi, had
last year in a suit sought a perpetual injunction restraining NERC from
implementing any upward review of electricity tariff without significant
improvement in power supply for at least 18 hours a day.
Justice Idris had made an order directing
parties to maintain status quo. But, while the suit was pending, NERC announced
the tariff hike.
Yesterday, Adebiyi informed the court that he
had initiated contempt proceedings against NERC chairman and DISCOs’ Managing
Directors for disobeying the court’s orders and prayed the court to commit the
alleged contemnors to prison.
But NERC’s lawyer, Chief Anthony Idigbe, SAN,
said he had filed an appeal against the order by Justice Idris. He said he also
had a pending application for stay of proceedings pending determination of the
appeal.
Adebiyi said the contempt charge should be
heard first since NERC had undermined the court’s authority.
In a short ruling, Justice Idris said after a
careful examination of the records of court, there were a number of pending
applications to be dispensed with.
Among them is the Form 49 filed by the
plaintiff and a motion for leave to serve the purported contemnors through
their counsel.
