The Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, has debunked the N6 trillion claims, by the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), as a debt owed the association
In a statement, signed by Joe Ajaero, the NLC President, the Union called on the APGC, to publish the list of the owners of the Gencos.
Recall that in a statement, earlier, the APGC, had accused the Nigeria Labour Congress of lacking the competence to understand the power sector, for asking the federal government to reverse the power privatisation.
Read also: GenCos condemn NLC allegation of extortion
But the NLC rejected the claims as ” an entirely their self-serving narrative and misleading characterization of our patriotic demands”
The NLC, while stating that it stands by every word of their initial press statement, added that “The privatisation of the power sector was, and remains, a grand deception and a well-orchestrated robbery of the Nigerian people”
According to the Union, “The APGC’s whining about “victimisation” cannot mask the stench of failure that has enveloped the sector since they took over.
“APGC and Co need to explain to Nigerians why they bought the entire Power assets for around N400 billion, but GENCOs alone are demanding N6 trillion as APGC admitted not even the N3 trillion Federal Government wanted to pay!”
The NLC accused the APGC of ” conveniently avoiding the most scandalous contradiction at the heart of this debate.
“The APGC speaks of outstanding payments, but let us talk about the grotesque mathematics of plunder.
The NLC stressed that the entire power sector assets were sold for about Four Hundred Billion Naira (N400 billion), adding that ” Yet, we are now told that the Federal Government is contemplating a bailout of Three Trillion Naira (N3 trillion) for the very same GENCOs who have failed to generate additional megawatt above pre-privatisation installed capacity.
“We ask the Nigerian people; can a man sell his house for 400b and then turn around to pay the buyer 3 trillion because the buyer mismanaged the property? This is not economics; this is a plunder”
The NLC described the action of the power geberators as “a clandestine scheme to transfer an additional three trillion Naira of public wealth; money belonging to workers, pensioners, and the masses; into the pockets of a handful of speculators. They call it business, but we call it HEIST.
“We dare the APGC to deny that from the very beginning, the sellers of these assets are in bed with the buyers.
“This incestuous relationship was an open secret, and this latest attempt at a bailout is the final stage of that heist. It is a continuation of the primitive accumulation of capital by a comprador elite who have cornered the levers of power to enrich themselves at the expense of over 200 million Nigerians”
The NLC also blamed what they described as ” deep incompetence” of the GENCOS, for what Nigeria is currently going through in the power sector.
“Let us educate them. The NLC is not a visitor to this sector. Our members are the workers in the plants. Our affiliate, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), is on the ground every day.
Read also: E-transmission of election results: NLC threatens mass boycott of 2027 elections
“The leadership of the NLC played active and leading roles in the struggle against this flawed privatisation exercise two decades ago. “The President of NLC sits on the Board of the International Energy Agency and a Ph.D Scholar in Energy Law”
The NLC said it had warned that this; failure; would be the outcome, adding that “Our warnings were ignored by those who were compensated. Consequently, do not lecture us on dynamics when you have failed to meet a single objective of the privatisation exercise.
“Regarding our use of the phrase “settle the boys”; the APGC’s performative outrage is disingenuous. “Boys” is an everyday phrase. Our usage remains prescient given the current political drama in Nigeria. It is now clear that in Nigeria, “the boys” are those who have taken centre stage, cornering public resources and providing a theatre as governance while the people suffer. We maintain that the public coffers must not be used to settle the “boys.”
“For the avoidance of doubt, and in the interest of transparency, the NLC dares the APGC to publish a full and comprehensive list of the beneficial owners of all GENCOs and other power assets. Let Nigerians see the faces of those demanding this N6 trillion.”
The Union stated that ” although it is public knowledge that power flows to those connected to the corridors of power, the Union demanded ” that they make it official”
The NLC also challenged the owners of the GENCOS to tell Nigerians how many Megawatts of power they have added to the system since they took over
“Since you took over these assets, what is the highest Megawatt (MW) of electricity you have generated and delivered to the national grid?
“Is it not a fact that generation has remained averagely stagnant at between 4,000 and 5,000 MW—the exact same level before privatisation?
“Which objective of the privatisation exercise have you met? Was it not to improve generation, transmission, and distribution?”
The NLC described the privatisation sales pitch as ” a litany of lies sold to a desperate nation. You promised to unleash technical capacity, Foreign Direct Investment, and to finally generate the power that would illuminate Nigeria. You have done none of these”
The Union also accused the owners of the GENCOS of delivering “darkness and debt”, since they took over
“So, we ask again: Where is this vaunted technical expertise you were supposed to bring? Point to a single innovation, a single efficiency you have introduced. Where is the foreign direct investment you swore to inject? You have steadily carted away billions in tariff hikes, presiding over decay while lining your pockets.
“This is not business; this is the last act of a continuing heist; a cash out at the expense of Nigerians. This is not patriotic; it is parasitic.
“For companies that treat our nation’s laws with such contempt, the word “patriotism” is a mockery on your lips. You have flagrantly disregarded Nigeria’s labour laws with the impunity of those who believe they are above the state.
“NLC would want the GENCOs to realize that it amounts to wage theft and robbery to deny workers and their unions check-off dues amounting to millions since taking over and then refusing to pay dividend on the 10% allotted to workers by the Privatisation Act.
“We ask, how much has the GENCOs paid to the federal government that is supposed to own about 40% equity in their companies as dividend since the last 10yrs of operation? We believe not a single kobo. One is therefore aghast at what moral grounds the GENCOs would be standing to make such atrocious demand of N6 trillion if not because it believes that it is above the state.
Read also: NLC backs FCTA workers’ strike, urges affiliate unions to join action
“It is important that we ask the GENCOs to make public how much Nigerians were paying as electricity tariff before they captured assets of the Power sector and how much Nigerians are paying now.?”
They also challenged the power sector owners to tell Nigerians “whether tariff has not gone up by over 500% since with stagnant generation and sometimes zero generation. Is it not immoral to continue extorting this huge hike in tariffs from Nigerians yet, APGC has the nerves to request for N6trn? This is utterly brazen!
“It is an indictment of this failed model that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, frustrated by the paralysis you have caused, now reportedly seeks to remove the seat of power from the national grid and generate its own electricity
“We ask the APGC: If the President, with all the resources of the state, is forced to generate his own power, does that not prove our point? Has the nation not been taken hostage by a cartel?”
