From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
An Abia State High Court sitting at Isiala Ngwa has struck out a suit instituted by three Aba residents on behalf of others, against Aba Power Electric Limited (APLE), over tariff hike.
During proceedings, counsel for APLE, Chief Mike Ahamba drew the court’s attention to provisions of the 2023 Electricity Act on how any person not happy at any action of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) should go about his or her grievances.
“Sections 46, 48, and 51 provide, among other things that any person dissatisfied with the commission under Section (2) shall, subject to rules of the Federal High Court, within 30 days from the final decision of the commission was reached, file an appeal to the Federal High Court”.
Chief Ahamba told the Court that the three persons did not wait for 30 days for NERC to look into their complaint against the commission’s order to Aba Power last December 30, to review its tariff from January 1, to match tariffs of those other 11 electricity firms in the country which were increased on April 4, 2024.
“They rather hurriedly ran to the Abia State High Court on the 17th day. It is baffling that they should behave this way, as though Nigeria were a country with no laws, no rules, no regulations.
“Worse, they ran to the Abia State High Court here in Isiala Ngwa, contravening the 2023 Electricity Act.
“Why didn’t they proceed to the Federal High Court, which is in every state of the federation, including Abia State?”, Ahamba asked rhetorically.
Ruling on the matter, Justice Enyinna Ikpeazu agreed with Ahamba’s submissions on the two critical observations about the serious procedural errors by the complainants who had approached the court last January under the guise of the Aba Electricity Consumers Forum in protest against the NERC directive for a tariff review.
The judge agreeing with Ahamba noted that the “so-called Abia Electricity Forum is unregistered, illegal, and unknown to the law; consequently, it does not have the locus to appear before the court or any other court in the country.”
The judge was emphatic that State High Courts have no jurisdiction to entertain matters under the 2023 Electricity Act and subsequently struck out the case in favour of APPLE.