REVERSE ELECTRICITY PRIVATIZATION – LABOUR TO BUHARI
The Organised Labour group has restated its call for the reversal of the power sector’s privatization.
Its President, Joe Ajaero, said the power sector privatisation was a failure. Reacting to President Muhammadu Buhari’s speech on Democracy Day, the United Labour Congress (ULC), said the power sector has failed Nigerians.
“It has been a harvest of woes. The United Kingdom has done the needful with their railways on seeing the woes the sector was bringing to the nation, the government has started reversing the privatization of that sector. The government should emulate this and do the most sensible thing at this time by mustering the needed courage to reverse the nation’s electricity sector privatisation,” he said.
Ajaero said labour considered it embarrassing that the country has continued to pay the individuals that captured the DISCOs and GENCOs, despite repaying the nation with darkness.
He said: “Our findings showed that the government has paid about N1trillion to these private entities and this is most befuddling.
“It is, therefore, better to reverse the sale so that instead of paying these companies, Nigeria can manage its funds for the purposes of generating and delivering power to our homes and organisations.”
The ULC chief said workers were surprised that Buhari did not find it necessary to address the myriads of problems confronting them and the workplaces.
“We had thought that the President will recommit to ensuring that the minimum wage quickly become a reality but he never did.
“We had thought that the President would have talked about the infrastructure deficit. We had hoped that the President would have addressed the crisis of unemployment and the increasing business shut down; alas, it did not happen,” he said.
SOURCE – THE NATION NEWS
