The University of Jos has been without public electricity for over a month due to a recent hike in tariffs, prompting the Vice Chancellor to seek intervention from the House of Representatives Committee on University Education.
During an oversight visit by the committee, Vice Chancellor of the University of Jos, Prof. Tanko Ishaya,appealed for assistance in addressing the institution’s power crisis.
“The entire University of Jos has been in darkness for over a month due to the hike in electricity tariff,” Prof. Ishaya told the committee members.
The Vice Chancellor explained that the university’s reclassification as a Band A electricity consumer has led to a dramatic increase in their monthly bills. “Prior to the grouping of electricity consuming customers which placed the university in Band A, the electricity tariff of the school was ranging from N20 million to N25 million per month,” he said. “But with the classification, the bill jumped up to about N79 million to N80 million every month.”
Prof. Ishaya emphasized the financial strain this has placed on the institution, stating, “The university management was finding it difficult to pay the regular bill of about N25 million per month, and the situation became worse after the classification of the electricity users placing the university in Band A.”
In response to the situation, the Vice Chancellor requested that the university be removed from the Band A classification.
Abubakar Hassan Fulata, Chairman of the House Committee on University Education, led the delegation during the oversight visit. He assured the university administration of the committee’s commitment to addressing the challenges facing higher education institutions.
“We are determined to do everything within our power to improve the standard of education,” Fulata stated. He added that the committee is “examining how previous allocations from the Federal Government and internally generated revenue were utilised to determine whether there was compliance with Appropriation Act.”
