The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has strongly condemned a statement credited to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, claiming that 150 million Nigerians now enjoy adequate electricity with just 5,500 megawatts.
In a press release issued on April 23, 2025, the union described the remark as an insult to the intelligence of Nigerians and a poor attempt at deception.
The NLC argued that it is impossible for a nation generating an unstable and inconsistent 5,000 megawatts to supply reliable electricity to 150 million people, pointing out that international standards recommend at least 1,000 megawatts per one million citizens.
By this measure, Nigeria should be generating no less than 150,000 megawatts to adequately serve its population.
The Congress questioned the minister’s claim, asking: “Where are the power plants and the transmission infrastructure to back such a supply?”
“Why do homes remain in darkness and factories shut down daily if the country has achieved such coverage?”
The statement traced the current crisis to the 2013 privatization of the power sector, which it said handed over Nigeria’s vital infrastructure to favored individuals for a paltry N400 billion.
More than a decade later, NLC noted, there has been no significant improvement in power generation or infrastructure, yet GenCos and DISCOs continue to receive massive public subsidies without accountability.
The Congress also raised alarm over plans to privatize the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), warning that selling off the only remaining government-owned power asset would deepen the sector’s crisis rather than resolve it.
Reacting to the recent electricity tariff hike introduced through the controversial Band A, B, and C classifications, the NLC called it a sophisticated exploitation strategy.
It accused DISCOs of raking in over N700 billion while millions of Nigerians remain without reliable power, forcing citizens to choose between food and electricity bills.
The union lamented that power sector workers remain poorly paid and unappreciated, while regulatory officials and private profiteers enrich themselves.
It declared the current situation as not genuine reform, but an organized scheme for profiteering at the public’s expense.
In a firm message to the Power Minister, the NLC warned against further propaganda and advised government officials to stop insulting Nigerians with “statistical gymnastics” and fabricated achievements.
“If you generate, transmit and distribute more power, we will see it in our homes and factories, not on television and in newspapers,” the statement said.
The NLC vowed to continue using all lawful and democratic means to resist what it described as grand deception and exploitation of the masses, pledging to stand firm in its mission to reclaim the power sector for the Nigerian people.
“Let there be light, not lies,” NLC President Comrade Joe Ajaero declared in closing.
