The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the Federal Government (FG) to scrap the privatisation of the electric power sector over the epileptic power supply in the country.
The NLC stated that since the privatisation of the power generation and distribution assets in Nigeria, the promise of constant supply of electricity remains a mirage.
This is just as the union also called for the total jettisoning of a deregulation policy to ensure the importation of refined petroleum products which benefits only middlemen profiteers and their partners.
The NLC said Nigeria should refine its crude oil to generate refined petroleum products including diesel, saying the move would make refined products constantly available to Nigerians at an affordable cost.
The union made the call via its Easter message issued and made available to The Star on Monday by the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba.
He stated: “In the past few weeks, Nigeria has been plunged in a terrible ordeal of scarcity of refined petroleum products. The cost of diesel, aviation fuel and Premium Motor Spirit has generally soared to unprecedented heights.
“The prevailing chaos in our energy sector is traceable to the embrace of neoliberal and anti-people policies by successive governments. The full deregulation of diesel, and aviation fuel has failed to deliver on its promises of abundant products supply and cheaper prices.
“Today, Nigerians pay far more for diesel, kerosene and aviation fuel and yet these products are hardly available. While the promoters of deregulation have suddenly lost their tongues, the burden of this grand failure has been transferred to Nigerian workers and the public.
“The same challenge in the downstream petroleum sub-sector manifests in our electricity subsector. Since the privatization of the power generation and distribution assets in Nigeria, the promise of constant supply of electricity remains a mirage.
“In the past one month, Nigeria has experienced about four episodes of national electricity grid collapse. Before this time, public electricity supply had deteriorated to some of its lowest in our history. This is despite humungous tax payers’ money that government invested as support funds for private investors that bought our public electricity assets.
“Yet, in the midst of these privatization anomalies, Nigerian electricity consumers are still denied pre-paid meters and forced to pay highly inflated estimated billings.
“The Electric Power Sector Reform Act demands the review of the privatization exercise every five years. The power sector reform has been on for more than five years, yet, there are no concrete plans to review the privatization exercise.
“Congress reiterates the call for the scrapping of the Electric Power Sector privatization program given its monumental failure to make affordable and constant electric power available to power the potentials of Nigerians and their businesses.
“We also call for the total jettisoning of a deregulation policy that in the eyes of its cash-out promoters translates to wholesale importation of refined petroleum products which benefits only middlemen profiteers and their partners in the corridors of power.
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“Nigeria can and should refine its crude oil to generate refined petroleum products including diesel which is one of the easiest to refine bye-products of crude oil especially using modular refineries. Nigeria can make refined products constantly available to ordinary Nigerians at very affordable cost,” Wabba said.
Speaking on the industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Wabba expressed displeasure that “millions of Nigerian university students especially those attending public citadels of higher learning are celebrating Easter outside the precincts of their campuses not by reason of choice but because our country cut short their hopes.”
He added that the inability of the government to deliver on commitments it reached with the university workers both academic and non-academic has ensured that the streak of instability battering Nigerian tertiary education system remain unresolved.
On the non-implementation of the minimum wage by some states in the country, the NLC President said: “It is difficult to imagine that many workers in Nigeria are yet to enjoy the national minimum wage almost four years after being signed into law.
“Particularly culpable are Cross River, Taraba and Zamfara states. Nigerian pensioners are not spared as many of them are denied their gratuity and pension arrears.
“Tragically, while wages remain the same and sometimes are unpaid, the cost of living keeps skyrocketing. Inflation has eroded the purchasing power of workers as the Naira continues to lose its value. We must stress that all workers including military, police, and para-military deserve decent wages and pension.”
The NLC President, therefore, “ask government and private sector employers to meet workers halfway and put a glow to our hopes. We demand respect for Collective Bargaining Agreements signed with unions in our tertiary institutions and other sectors.
“States yet to fully implement the national minimum wage should do so immediately. We demand immediate clearing of pension arrears owed our retirees.
“Employers should deliver on prompt salary payment, periodic salary increment, promotion, regular training, access to social housing, affordable healthcare, paid vacation cum sick leave and compensation for injury at work,” Wabba stated.
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