ELECTRICITY UNION, OTHERS SEEK REVERSAL OF POWER, WATER SECTORS PRIVATISATION

The National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees, AUPCTRE, have called on the Federal Government to urgently revoke the privatisation licences granted in the power and water sectors.

In a joint statement, the unions declared: “We as Labour and trade unions have asked the federal government to reverse with immediate effect the privatisation of the sectors, because Nigeria was better off when the sectors were under government.”

Speaking to journalists after a meeting in Kano, Ayuba Barde, NUEE’s North West Zonal Organising Secretary I, stated that the privatisation policy has had far-reaching negative consequences on the nation and must be reconsidered.

He said: “From inception, we called the attention of Nigerians that this policy government is bringing on board is not good for the country because we work in the sector and know its strengths and what needed to be put in place before the policy takes off, but Nigerians didn’t support us, thinking we had our motives.

“But, the reality is we are looking at the aftermath and the effect in the long run. Today, Nigerians live to tell the story themselves. The supply is low and people are paying for the services they are not getting. From the billing system, the metering, these investors are just interested in profit maximisation rather than just reinvesting in the sectors.”

He further alleged that the sectors were handed over to government allies without proper valuation, resulting in “grid collapses, blackouts and excessive billing.”

Echoing this sentiment, AUPCTRE’s Acting General Secretary, Lawrence Ilesanmi, stated: “Power sector is not supposed to be privatised because it is under the basic social services that are supposed to be subsidised by the government, but it is dodging that responsibility and inviting private sector to come and produce and distribute them.”

He warned that such privatisation exposes citizens to greater risk, citing environmental damage from excessive borehole drilling following the privatisation of water services.