NLC slams power Minister over “adequate electricity” claim

From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has sharply criticised Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu for claiming on April 17 that 150 million Nigerians enjoy adequate electricity from a 5,500-megawatt (MW) national grid.

In a statement issued on 22 April 2025, NLC President Joe Ajaero called the claim “outrageous” and “a joke taken too far”, arguing it insults Nigerians facing frequent blackouts, high tariffs, and unreliable power.

He stated: “For the minister to suggest that over 150 million Nigerians have access to reliable power in a country that struggles to generate a meagre and inconsistent 5,000 megawatts—far below the global benchmark of 1,000MW per one million people—is to insult the intelligence and lived realities of Nigerians.”

The NLC highlighted that Nigeria’s 240 million population requires 240,000 MW by global standards, far exceeding the unstable 5,500 MW peak. Ajaero said, “By that standard, Nigeria should be generating no less than 150,000MW to justify such a claim. Yet, even on its best day, the country’s electricity generation has never exceeded 5,500MW, and that figure remains unstable and unreliable.”

The congress condemned the 2013 power sector privatisation as a “grand betrayal”, noting the ₦400 billion sale yielded minimal improvements. It also opposed plans to privatise the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), calling it an “economic ruse dressed in bureaucratic doublespeak”.

The NLC denounced the 2024 tariff hike for Band A, B, and C customers as a “sophisticated scheme to legalise exploitation”, forcing citizens to prioritise food over electricity. It praised power sector workers for their resilience despite low pay and urged Adelabu to stop misleading Nigerians, stating, “Cease from insulting the intelligence of the people with fabrications and false hope. Nigerians deserve more respect.”