…Institutions resort to power rationing, students kick
…Wear your thinking caps – Observers tell vice chancellors
The high electricity tariff being charged by the electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) is now affecting normal academic activities in many public universities.
The students of the University of Ibadan (UI) last week protested the plan by the authorities to ration power.
The students of the University of Benin had earlier barricaded the federal highway causing untold hardship to travellers and other commuters over untold hardship they face over electric blackout on campus.
The Benin Electricity Distribution Company, (BEDC) had disconnected the university because of the disputed monthly bill of over N250 million.
This was coming ahead of the students’ first semester examination, hence the students took to the streets, blocking federal highway in protest to the power outage for about two weeks.
Public universities in Nigeria are groaning under the yoke of high tariffs thrust on them by electricity distribution companies, DisCoS.
Although the universities had managed to contain the monthly bills from their various DisCos, the recent tariff hike that has seen many of the institutions join the Band A may have worsened their headache.
The ongoing tariffs hike by electric distribution companies is poised to leave not less than 10 tertiary institutions with the highest budgets spending over N75 billion on electricity this year. The 10 universities have a combined budget of N247.6 billion for 2024.
The 10 public universities with the highest budgets for 2024 are the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, N36.6 billion; the University of Calabar, N29.5 billion; Ahmadu Bello University, N29. 2 billion; Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, N26.3 billion; and the University of Benin, N24.2 billion.
Read also: How Nigerians can survive new electricity tariff hike
Others are the University of Ibadan N23.4 billion; the University of Maiduguri N22.3billion; University of Port Harcourt, N19.6billion; University of Lagos, N19. 4 billion, and Obafemi Awolowo University, N17.1billion.
Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, immediate past vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), speaking on the issue said that no Nigerian university, particularly a public one, can pay the current electricity costs imposed by the DisCos.
Ogundipe identified the high cost of electricity as one of the most pressing issues facing Nigerian institutions today, calling for urgent action to address the situation.
He said that in 2021 alone, UNILAG’s annual power bill soared to N1.7 billion, while the Federal Government’s total subsidy to the university which was not fully released was only N150 million.
“As of last month, UNILAG’s electricity costs had further escalated to over N250 million per month,” he said.
Similarly, Lilian Salami, vice-chancellor of the University of Benin, lamented the heavy toll the recent over 300 percent electricity tariff hike has taken on universities with most of the public institutions on the verge of bankruptcy.
Salami, who is also the chairman of the committee of vice-chancellors of Nigerian universities, said the new rate announced by the regulator, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has increased the University of Benin’s bill from N80 million to N280 million, which is too difficult for it to pay, bearing in mind that the institution was not able to pay the initial bill.
A recent report said that these institutions are struggling to cope with high electricity tariffs, having been categorised into “Band A” without receiving a commensurate provision of power. For instance, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) faces a monthly bill of N300 million.
The lack of electricity has forced universities to ration power or rely on generators. UNIBEN’s health centre, for example, is without power from 10 p.m. when the generators are switched off, leaving staff to use torchlights. Strategic offices like the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) secretariat depend on generators.”
Efriye Bribena, chief executive officer of TAMIEF International Limited, believes the cause of the high electric tariffs on campus is because the government is shying away from its responsibilities.
“Government is shirking its responsibilities to the citizens of the country by not meeting its obligations to provide basic social amenities to the people.
Electricity is a basic amenity required by citizens to survive. That is the reason most governments subsidise electricity or provide cheap sources of energy,” he said.
Bribena said in the face of the ugly development the government ensures the universities enjoy cheap and affordable electricity.
“It is incumbent on this government to ensure that the universities enjoy cheap and affordable electricity. Making the universities pay exorbitant electricity bills will not augur well for the educational sector and the nation.
“The average parent and most indigent students are already overburdened by the fees and living expenses they bear in most universities. Government will be stretching them to the limit by transferring additional cost on electricity to them,” he noted.
In addition, he said; “Government should either subsidise electricity or make provisions to the universities to take care of any additional cost on electricity. The educational sector might face a major crisis if this matter is not properly handled.”
Stakeholders maintain that universities should look inward to find solutions to their electricity needs. They argue that it is high time universities stopped crying over high electricity tariffs and took action to become more self-sufficient.
Isaac Agenyi, chief executive officer at Moto Business Services, Nigeria, believes the out-of-the-woods for the various universities is to seek the intervention of their alumni to cushion the harsh effects of the prevailing economic crunch.
“The schools should seek the intervention of the alumni of the university and others concerned to assist. The economy is biting very hard,” he said.
Agenyi reiterated that the current reality cannot accommodate the increase in electric tariff.
“How would they pay, and from where? Is it the students that their parents do not have enough to feed, not to talk about other things?” he asked.
Okuwoga Bamidele, a legal practitioner said the crises are needles, he stressed the need for proper funding of the tertiary education institutions.
“We cannot continue to neglect the stark realities facing us as a nation. First, universities cannot survive with inadequate funding. Secondly, there’s a dire need for the institutions to raise funds (IGR) to augment whatever the government gives,” he said.
He reiterated that while the students may want to get quality education for almost free, they should be ready to pay exorbitant bills for accommodation, transportation and feeding.
“If they don’t agree to a gradual increase in fees, the universities will continue to suffer,” he noted.
However, Friday Erhabor, director of media and strategies at Marklenez Limited, said that universities should stop looking at the direction of increasing school fees anytime there is an increase in utility bills.
Rather, he said beyond school fees, universities should think of other ways of generating revenue. There are lots of services that universities can render and commercialise.
“University managements should start thinking outside the box. Their professional departments can do a lot to generate revenue. They can also upgrade some departments like electrical engineering and physics to explore green energy and generate their own power,” he said.
He further said: “If Nigerian universities are equipped to play their roles to solving societal challenges by being innovative, the country would begin to witness the various science and engineering departments proffer solutions to the energy challenges beclouding the country.
“Besides, it is rather unfortunate that the higher education communities where personnel and economic management are taught, do not know how to manage their energy supply.
“In almost all the universities, the lecturers, and non-academic staff would leave their office air-conditioners, and other electrical/electronic gadgets on while not in the office, simply because they are not the ones picking the bills.”
Timothy Adediran, an entrepreneur, said university managements should be more concerned about prudent management of resources than hiking fees.
“The problem is many university staff don’t see themselves as people entrusted with a business to manage. Increasing fees is not the solution, but how they manage what they have is key,” he said.
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