Former chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Sam Amadi has said ex-President Goodluck Jonathan did not order the reversal of electricity tariff in 2014.
In the build-up to the 2015 general elections, NERC announced an increase in electricity tariff, but it later suspended the action.
On Thursday, current Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, claimed the Jonathan administration ordered a reversal of tariff in order to win electoral votes.
But in a statement issued on Friday, Amadi said he and his colleagues at NERC took the decision to suspend the action.
“I have read some piece of news suggesting that President Jonathan ordered the reversal of electricity tariff during his tenure as president. Since I have left office I have avoided issues about electricity regulation in Nigeria to give our successors the best opportunity to do better than we did,” he said.
“My understanding of public office that the best a former public officer should do is to truly step aside and be willing to provide advice if and when it is needed. In the best tradition of public service, you don’t obstruct the new administration.
“But I am constrained to restate the truth of what happened for the purpose of ensuring proper information to enable the present administration do their best to fix the electricity crisis.
“Throughout our five years as commissioners of NERC, there was no single day that President Jonathan ever dictated or instructed policy to the commission concerning any issue on electricity regulation”, he added.
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