The National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero has lambasted the Ministry of Power, and Minister, Chief Adebayo Adelabu for allegedly seeking about N8billion to educate Nigerians on how to pay electricity bills.
Comrade Ajaero expressed his disappointment in a statement he personally signed on Tuesday, declaring that the power sector in Nigeria is at the brink of collapse as the helmsmen have repeatedly shown gross incompetence.
His outrage follows the recent budget defense by the Minister at the National Assembly, seeking for allocation
of about N8 billion in the 2025 federal budget for the “sensitization of Nigerians on the need to pay electricity bills.”
He said “at a time when millions of Nigerians are grappling with crushing poverty, runaway inflation, and the unbearable weight of a failing economy, it is both insulting and tragic that our leaders find it appropriate to squander public funds on such frivolities.”
Stating that the ludicrous proposal epitomizes the depth of profligacy, wastefulness, and corruption that has permeated governance in Nigeria.
He said while the Minister was seeking N8billion to educate Nigerians on the need to pay electricity bills, the contractors in the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) who help in delivering capacity are owed over N200 billion (Two Hundred Billion Naira), adding that if not for the intervention of the Unions in the sector in December, 2024, the procurement Committee would have added to this burden by sitting down to award more contracts.
“Asking for N8billion (Eight billion Naira) to teach us how to pay bills to DISCOs owned by private entities is entirely questionable and speaks to the deeper worries of Nigerians as to the distinction between those in Government and those who bought the Electricity companies.
“The Minister should tell Nigerians how much dividend Federal Government has received from the privatized entities since the last 12 years of privatization in lieu of its 40% ownership of the privatized entities.
“It is laughable to believe that what is important to Nigerians especially as it concerns the power sector now is to be sensitized on why they should pay more for electricity in the midst of constant grid failure and overwhelming darkness.
“This is annoying and speaks to the depth of crass contempt and disdain with which some individuals occupying the nation’s corridors of power hold the citizens.
“Adelabu should show more respect for Nigerians rather than pretending to teach us how we should behave in the face of his plans to foist on us more hardship,” he said.
He said the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) despite the enormous power invested on it by the Electricity act of 2023 has continuously demonstrated incapacity to regulate or outrightly refused to discharge its responsibilities to electricity consumers in Nigeria.
“It is unimaginable that NERC colluded with deafening silence with the Board of one of the DISCOs to sack its Managing Director for exposing the unethical practices in the DISCO.
“Whistle blowing as far as NERC is concerned has become an offense so, instead of an organization that is supposed to reward and protect a whistleblower, it rather connived to punish and sack the official.
“This is an Organisation that is saddled with ensuring transparency and efficient running of the Electricity sector but chose the contrary.
“NERC is therefore telling Nigerians that it is not prepared to discharge its mandate and has thus failed woefully which explains the shamble in the sector,” he said.
Comrade Ajaero said unless the perceived incompetence and wastefulness in the Ministry of Power and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is addressed urgently, the nation’s power sector may collapse completely.
He, therefore, urged President Bola Tinubu to take steps to rein in the burgeoning appetites of those in the Power Ministry and NERC to reinvigorate the sector and save it from total collapse.
“Our position on this is clear, we will not stand idly by while public funds are wasted in the name of governance. This is another glaring reminder of why Nigeria remains in its current state of economic stagnation and why incompetence continues to thrive unchecked.
“We warn that failure to address this issue will further erode public confidence in government institutions and exacerbate the already dire socio-economic conditions facing millions of Nigerians.
“We will continue to monitor developments in this regard and will not hesitate to mobilize against any attempt to use the budget process as a vehicle for waste,” he said.
