The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has raised alarm over the persistent national grid collapses, demanding an immediate and total overhaul of the country’s power sector.
In a statement on Sunday signed by its President, Joe AjaeroIn, NLC argue that the current structure has plunged workers and industries into “energy poverty,” with electricity generation stagnating at between 4,000 and 5,000 megawatts more than a decade after privatisation.
According to the statement, Ajaero who was speaking at the National Union of Electricity Employees’ Annual Conference of Women and Youth in Abuja, accused Distribution Companies of routinely rejecting load from the Transmission Company of Nigeria, worsening grid instability and nationwide blackouts.
He described the privatisation exercise as a “grand deception,” alleging that core investors lacked the technical and financial capacity to manage the assets and relied heavily on loans from Nigerian banks to acquire them.
Ajaero further questioned reports of a proposed multi-trillion-naira bailout for Generation Companies, insisting that public funds should not be used to support private firms that have failed to deliver reliable power.
The NLC also criticised the electricity band classification system, saying it amounts to a tariff hike without guaranteed service.
According to the union, consumers under higher bands pay more but still suffer erratic supply.
The labour body is demanding the return of the power sector to full state control, arguing that electricity is a social service essential for national development and cannot be driven solely by profit.
It also called for a National Stakeholders’ Summit to develop a worker-centred roadmap focused on affordable tariffs, public investment in infrastructure, and stable electricity supply nationwide.
