By Adewale Sanyaolu
The National Union of Electricity Employees(NUEE) has lamented that power investors that bought assets of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria(PHCN) during the privatisation exercise lack the technical competence and financial muscle to turn around the fortunes of the sector.
Speaking at a media briefing in Benin at the weekend, the Zonal Organizing Secretary, Edo/Delta Generation and Transmission Zone, Mr. Nash Shaibu, lamented that the obnoxious policies being implemented by the Distribution Companies (DisCos) including the estimated billing system which has created an unfriendly work environment for power sector workers.
He said that the union’s opposition to the privatisation of Nigeria’s power sector in November 2013, has been justified by poor electricity distribution to Nigerians across the country.
Shaibu said when the union cried out initially that the would-be handlers lack capacity to manage it, Nigerians thought that they were busy bodies.
‘’Unfortunately however, our outcry was misunderstood by the “hustlers” within the government with a well-orchestrated propaganda against the union which was mischievously accused of trying to protect inefficiency but the union did its best to educate Nigerians on the impending evil.
These “hustlers” who advised the government to sell also deceived the government to pay about N2 trillion subventions to the investors that bought the companies. The consequences and pains that go with privatization exercise as the union had predicted have not only come to fruition but now manifested and Nigerians are expectedly groaning today .’’
He lamented that the power sector is collapsing, while power distribution companies are being taken over by the banks who are doing so to recover monies borrowed by the investors.
Shaibu also hinted that most of the distribution networks within the zone comprising Delta, Edo, Ekiti and Ondo states are begging for attention because the equipment inherited post privatisation remain the same as there is no visible attempt by the company to upgrade and expand their capacities.
He said none of the generation companies (GenCos) has added 1MW to what they inherited after the privatization, adding that the GenCos output has been hovering between 3500MW and 4000MW despite improvement in the wheeling capacity of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) which is still federal government owned to over 7000MW.
The unionist also faulted the inability of the federal government to honour the agreement reached with the union, stressing that it is almost nine years of privatisation but the entitlements of some of the workers of the defunct PHCN have not been paid, thereby subjecting them to hardship and untimely death.
He maintained that the union is prepared to use their labour and sweat to liberate the sector and the country from the clutches of these “hustlers” in the power sector.
He further lamented that the poor work conditions have imposed hardship on employees in the sector as the DisCos are formulating endless obnoxious policies that have compelled their members work in an unfriendly environment as a result of crazy bills because the investors are only interested in maximising profit.
“This has exposed our members to life-threatening ailments. Furthermore, the GenCos on the other hand have refused to sign conditions of service guiding employer/employee relations, poor remuneration, lack of welfare packages coupled with the denial of their constitutional rights to belong to or join the union.
“We are also prepared to resist any threat or provocation on the leadership of the union at the zonal and national level, as a threat to workers in the sector is a threat to workers at large’’.