The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called for an immediate and thorough review of the country’s power sector, citing persistent inefficiencies and rising energy poverty.
The call was made by NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, during the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) annual conference of women and youth in Abuja over the weekend.
Key Concerns Highlighted by NLC
- Stagnant electricity generation: Despite the 2013 privatisation under former President Goodluck Jonathan, national electricity generation remains at 4,000–5,000 Megawatts, similar to pre-privatisation levels.
- Frequent national grid collapses: Load rejections by Distribution Companies (DisCos) and the collapsing grid have plunged industries, households, women, and youth into worsening energy poverty.
- Privatisation criticised as a “grand deception”: NLC described the transfer of Generation Companies (GenCos) and DisCos as benefiting a few speculators lacking technical expertise or financial capacity.
- Economic impact: The privatisation relied heavily on loans from Nigerian banks, contributing to Naira depreciation, while ordinary Nigerians face inflated electricity tariffs to service these debts.
NLC’s Statement
Ajaero condemned the current state of the sector:
“Instead of progress, we witness regression. Instead of light, we have darkness… This is not the ‘turnaround’ we were promised; this is a well-orchestrated robbery of the Nigerian people.”
The NLC’s call underscores growing frustration among workers and citizens over the failure of the power privatisation experiment, and a demand for urgent government intervention to restore efficiency and affordability in electricity supply.
