Don’t overstretch the rich, NASFAT tells FG

The Nasrullah-l-Fathi Society (NASFAT) has rejected the increment in electricity tariff, saying the timing is wrong.

Chief Missioner of NASFAT, Imam Abdul-Azeez Onike, also disagreed with the government’s position that the increment only targeted the rich who are capable of paying, saying overstretching the rich beyond the limit could be counterproductive.

He spoke with newsmen shortly after leading the two-rakat Eid prayer at the NASFAT Islamic Centre Asese along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

Onike, however, advised Nigerians to be patient with the government and avoid cursing the leaders, saying it is a religious duty to pray for the leaders.

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He said the electricity tariff increase should be reconsidered because it would still affect the downtrodden in society.

He said, “Whatever affects the rich will affect the downtrodden. If you are thinking it is only those living in eyebrow areas that the price increase would affect, it is a lie.

“If their budget increases, they will not be able to attend to the downtrodden. In Islam, there is no segregation. The fact that some people have been blessed does not mean that they should be sucked dry, that we should dry them because Allah has blessed them. Allah raises us above one another and he knows why he has done that.

“If you are now making lives difficult for those who have made it, how will they remember the downtrodden? So, we are calling on the government to look at that thing again. How can you increase the price from N60 to N225 per kwh, that is alarming, that is killing.”

The Islamic scholar further advised the government to do more to address insecurity in the land.