Chukwu Obinna 
NLC President, Joe Ajaero
ABUJA, Nigeria -The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) accuses privatised power firms of orchestrating a massive financial raid on public funds, intensifying scrutiny over a controversial six-trillion-naira claim now before the Federal Government.
In a statement on Thursday, NLC said electricity generation companies are seeking payments that dwarf the sector’s original sale price, calling the demand an “economic absurdity” that punishes workers and ordinary Nigerians.
In a statement issued Thursday, NLC President Joe Ajaero rejects claims by the Association of Power Generation Companies that labour lacks technical knowledge to interrogate the industry. He insists the figures alone expose what he describes as “elite profiteering”.
“The power sector is sold for about ₦400 billion. Today, the buyers demand ₦6 trillion,” Ajaero says. “This is not reform. This is an organised plunder.”
The union questions why power generation remains stuck between 4,000 and 5,000 megawatts more than a decade after privatisation, despite repeated tariff hikes that it says exceed 500 per cent. Labour also alleges that the government, which reportedly retains about 40 per cent equity in generation firms, has not received dividends since privatisation.
Beyond finances, the congress raises labour rights concerns, accusing power firms of withholding union dues and seizing staff housing assets transferred during the privatisation process.
“The workers are inside these plants every day. They see the decay,” Ajaero says, adding that labour leaders possess both operational and academic expertise in the energy sector.
The NLC calls on the state to reclaim leadership of electricity supply, describing power as a social service rather than a profit-driven commodity, and vows to oppose both the proposed bailout and any future tariff increases.
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Oluwatobi Adu 
Korede Abdullah 