The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared that Nigerians need “light, not lies,” as it condemned the recent claim by Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, that 150 million Nigerians now enjoy adequate electricity with just 5,500 megawatts.
According to a statement released on Wednesday by NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, the union described the minister’s assertion as “a bad joke” and an insult to Nigerians battling daily with blackouts, inflated tariffs, and a power sector structured for profiteering rather than service.
“For the Minister to suggest that over 150 million Nigerians have access to reliable power in a country that struggles to generate a meager and inconsistent 5,000 megawatts — far below the global benchmark of 1,000MW per one million people — is to insult the intelligence and lived realities of Nigerians,” the statement read.
The NLC also criticised the 2013 power sector privatisation exercise, which it said handed national assets to cronies for just N400 billion without any meaningful improvement in service. Ajaero noted that over a decade later, Nigeria remains trapped in darkness while billions in subsidies continue to be paid to underperforming operators.
Rejecting the recent electricity tariff hike “under the so-called Band A, B, and C classification” , the labour body called it a scheme to legalise exploitation. It vowed to deploy all lawful means to resist further hardship, reaffirming its demand for honesty and tangible improvement in Nigeria’s power sector.
