Electricity tariff hike: Senate suspends debate over court order 

This followed the presentation and adoption of a report of the Senate Committee on Power read by its chairman, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, during plenary.

Recall that NERC had announced a hike in electricity tariff, but the development was greeted by protests from Nigerians including the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Following this, the Senate mandated its committee on power to carryout an oversight on the matter.

While the Senate had gone far with its debate on the matter in Thursday, the Chairman on Senate Rules and Business, Senator Titus Zam, raised a point of order, saying the lawmakers cannot debate on an issue pending in court.

Sequel to this, the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session, stepped down the matter, saying the legal department would be consulted on the matter before further debate.

After this, Barau adjourned plenary to next Tuesday.

Recall that a federal high court in Kano had granted an interim order restraining the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) from implementing a hike in electricity tariff for Band A customers in the state.

The court directed Kano Electricity Distribution Plc to discontinue the implementation of tariff increased from N76.54/Kwh to N225/Kwh.

Justice Abdullahi Muhammad Liman, who granted the order, also directed NERC and KEDCO to stop taking any step, pending hearing and determination of a motion on notice filed by the applicants.