NLC calls for merger of power, petroleum ministries to fix energy crisis

From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the Federal Government to merge the Ministries of Power and Petroleum Resources into a single Ministry of Energy as part of reforms to address the country’s persistent electricity crisis.

In a statement by its President, Joe Ajaero, the labour union said the continued stagnation of Nigeria’s power sector reflects deep structural failures that cannot be resolved through temporary fixes such as bailouts and tariff increases.

The NLC argued that the proposed N6 trillion bailout for power generation companies (GENCOs) is only a symptom of a fundamentally broken system, warning that public funds should not be used to sustain what it described as a cartel of failed investors.

According to the union, the separation of the power and petroleum sectors into different ministries has created a disconnect that undermines efficient energy management, particularly in the area of gas supply for thermal power generation.

The document read in parts: “The NLC demands the creation of a unified Ministry of Energy to break these compartmentalised fiefdoms. This is not a mere administrative tinkering; it is a political demand to assert national sovereignty over our energy resources.

“Under a single ministry, there would be one minister accountable to the Nigerian people, not a collection of officials playing the blame game. When the power plants are down due to lack of gas, the same ministry responsible for petroleum extraction would be directly implicated.

“This would end the era where the Power Minister blames the Petroleum Minister and the Petroleum Minister blames market forces and global volatility. This merger is a pathway to rationalising the sector based on public interest, not private profit. It will facilitate a holistic view of our energy assets, ensuring that gas, which is a national heritage, is first and foremost used to generate domestic power to industrialise the nation and create jobs, rather than being flared or exported while Nigerians suffer in darkness.

“This, we are sure, will enhance national energy planning, which is key to national development. It will allow Nigeria to price electricity fairly by ending the “Cost-Reflective” model. As we know already, the current regime forces Nigerians to pay for the inefficiency and greed of private investors. A unified Ministry would prioritise service-reflective tariffs as service delivery becomes the Ministry’s main driver. This way, we ensure that workers and Nigerians pay fair rates for actual service, not costs imposed by inefficiencies and greed.

“We have seen how monopoly capital, as witnessed in the Dangote-NUPENG face-off, seeks to control both downstream petroleum and the narrative around energy pricing. A unified energy ministry must act as a bulwark against this, ensuring that the energy sector serves the goal of national development, not the enrichment of a few oligarchs.

“The NLC reiterates its stance that electricity is a social service and a fundamental right, not a luxury commodity to be traded on the various capitalists’ markets. The failed privatisation experiment of 2013 has proven that the private sector cannot and will not solve Nigeria’s power crisis. Their business model is built on extracting maximum tariffs while providing minimum service. By merging the ministries, we take the first step toward de-commodifying energy. We move towards a system where the state, through a coordinated Ministry of Energy, can mobilise public finance for investment in generation, transmission and distribution, just as it is done in nations that have lifted their citizens out of poverty.

“The Nigeria Labour Congress, therefore, calls on the Federal Government to initiate the process of merging the Ministry of Petroleum and the Ministry of Power into a single Ministry of Energy; once again, halt the proposed N6 trillion bailout to the GENCOs. Our commonwealth cannot be used to settle a cartel of failed investors. Convene a genuine national stakeholders’ summit to draft a people’s power roadmap that prioritises public ownership, energy security and the welfare of Nigerian workers and masses.

“The working class and the people of Nigeria cannot continue to be hostages to the artificial scarcity created by the decapitation of our national resources. We demand that the government treat our energy as a unified whole, managed for the benefit of the many, not the greed of the few.

“When workers and the broader citizenry are in darkness, the economy is paralysed. It is time to unite the ministries, unify the vision and take back the power sector for our nation!”