NLC demands cancellation of power sector privatisation

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Sunday urged the Federal Government to cancel the privatisation of the country’s power sector.

The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, made the call during the 2022 International Workers’ Day celebration in Abuja.

The NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) collaborated to host the event with the theme: “Labour, Politics, and the Quest for Good Governance and Development in Nigeria.”

He urged the federal government to use the Electricity Sector Privatization Reform Act’s five-year review window, which has become overdue.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration supervised the privatisation of the country’s power sector with the sale of the unbundled Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCoS) to private sector players in 2013.

With installed capacity of 12,522 MW, the country is only able to generate between 4,000 and 4,500 MW, a figure that is grossly insufficient for a country with over 200 million people.

Wabba said: “The challenges in our electricity sub-sector persist despite the acclaimed goodness that the power sector privatisation programme promised.

“In spite of humungous bailout support funds fleeced from public coffers to the so-called private investors who bought our electricity assets dirt cheap, our power generation and distribution blues keep getting worse.

“The truth is: we have been badly scammed.”

The NLC president, therefore, demanded a transparent investigation into the power sector privatisation programme.

“We believe this was hijacked by a few entitled Nigerians to corner the commonwealth without thought for value addition,’’ he added.