The National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, has called for a thorough review of the privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, alleging that it was bedevilled by irregularities.
The union was reacting to a statement by the outgoing Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, urging the incoming government of General Muhammadu Buhari not to tamper with the privatisation of power sector.
According to NUEE, the privatisation of the sector has made the generation and consumption of power in the country to be ineffective, adding that the payment of over N200 billion to the private sector by the government after the privatization exercise leaves much to be desired. It called on the incoming President to revisit the exercise.
Leaders of the union, led by its General Secretary and factional President of Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Joe Ajaero, made the call in Abuja, while taking journalists round the site of abandoned 60 containers of 52KVA electricity transformers, at Kubwa, in Abuja.
Ajaero insisted that there is need for the Buhari presidency to revisit the privatisation because the exercise has not made any positive impact on consumers months after it was done.
Ajaero said: “We want to say, as a union that the sham called privatization should be revisited. If privatization, as we were told, was to bring us heaven-on-earth elderado, and it has not done that, why should we insist on it?.
“Of course, our position as NUEE, has been no to privatization, especially given that we are an underdeveloped economy. It is the function of the state to provide power.
“Even the so called privatization, you can see that even this year alone, between January and now, they have even given the so called private sector over N200 billion. So, why fund them if you say the electricity is in the hands of the private sector? That brings you to the point of the fraud on who owns them.
“Why would you sell your house to somebody and you still give him money to maintain it? So, it’s a fraud.”
On the Minister’s call that privatization of PHCN must stay, Ajaero said “We want Buhari to ask questions first and foremost because it is wrong for a an out-going minister to be setting agenda for Buhari to reverse or not to reverse the privatization of PHCN.
“A minister who inherited about 4000 megawatts and is today, battling with just 2000 and something megawatts, doesn’t have the moral courage to advise the incoming government on what to do.
“If he Buhari asks questions for some months, he will now know the direction to move.”
The labour leader further said he was alerted on the abandoned equipment by concerned citizens who got wind of the development.
“With these transformers hidden here, you can now understand that while they were privatizing, certain properties were being hidden, “he alleged
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