THE Nigerian Labour Congress has called for the resignation of the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu and other Ministry of Power officials over the frequent collapse of the national power grid.
In a statement made available to News Point Nigeria on Wednesday by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero said the power sector was on the brink of total collapse.
Ajaero said, “If the Ministry of Power is manned by competent officials, the now embarrassing constant grid collapse would have been averted instead of the worrying statement by the Minister that this will continue as if this has always been the norm.
“We believe that this is a clear admission of incapacity and failure by the Ministry and we wonder why they would not do the honourable thing by resigning.
“It has to be noted that the number of times the National Grid has collapsed under these helmsmen is more than all the previous leaders in the history of our nation combined. Rather than the garrulous remarks, Nigerians expect more seriousness in handling their affairs.”
Ajaero also criticised the minister over the proposed allocation of ₦8 billion in the 2025 budget to sensitise Nigerians on how to pay electricity bills.
He said, ” The Power sector in Nigeria is at the brink of collapse as the helmsmen have repeatedly shown gross incompetence. It is a sector where the National Electricity Regulatory Commission despite the enormous power invested in 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 while the Minister in charge is enamoured with seeking about N8bn to teach Nigerians how to pay electricity bill.
“It is therefore not surprising that power grid collapse is now a constant as it has continued to succumb to greed and crass incompetence.”
He spoke of the various interventions of the union in the power sector.
He said, “Whereas the Minister seeks N8bn to educate us, contractors in the Transmission Company of Nigeria who help in delivering capacity are owed over N200 billion. 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.”
The union also called out the National Electricity Regulatory Commission for failing to fulfil its regulatory duties.
“It is unimaginable that NERC, an organization tasked with ensuring transparency and efficiency, would punish a whistleblower instead of rewarding and protecting them.
“This is a clear indication that NERC is not prepared to discharge its mandate.”
Ajaero added that he union will continue to monitor events in the sector, and ensure that public funds are not wasted.
“We will not stand idly by while public funds are wasted in the name of governance.
“Our position is clear: incompetence must not be rewarded, and those responsible must be held accountable.