By Eberechi Obinagwam
Following Thursday 17th, June 2021 report by the Guardian Newspapers about the planned sale of the Transmission Company of Nigeria ( TCN) by the federal government, the National Union of Electricity Employee has urged the federal government to listen to the voice of reasoning not to embark on what they describe as a journey capable of causing a total break down in the sector.
The union called on the National Assembly and Nigerians, in general, to resist the push for the sale of TCN which will further leave the nation with regrets and ‘had I known.’
The general secretary of Electricity Workers, Joe Ajaero, in a press statement warned: “This memo serves as notice to Nigerians that the union will resume its suspended industrial action for the non-implementation of agreements reached in the ministry of labour.
“Besides, the plan to further enslave Nigerians based on hemlock prescription of the IMF, World Bank and Britton Wood Institution will meet the resistance of the masses and workers of Nigeria who lost their jobs in thousands, some without pay and Nigerians who have been paying for darkness with the over 400 per cent tariff increase for services not rendered.
” with the non-implementation of the agreements reached with labour eight, (8), years after, worsening power supply situation, exploitative tariff imposition on toiling people of Nigeria, and projected 200 per cent increase in tariff in the first year of TCN privatization, the struggle will be between the oppressors and the oppressed,”
Explaining the issues that have surrounded the privatization, he said: ” It is embarrassing to say that the least that anybody in the name of privatization will contemplate the continued disposal of critical National Economic assets to private corporate organizations who act as fronts for a few that have benefited immensely from the whole process since November 1, 2013, to the detriment of Nigeria masses.
Joe, however, revealed that the three key officers of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, (NERC), GM, ( Engineering), GM, (Enforcement, and (GM), (Public Affairs), were working with hawks in the ministry to power who do not understand the concept in power generation, transmission, and distribution to carry out their selfish personal privatization agenda and milk the nation off its vital economic assets.
“They have just gathered to call a dog a bad name just to hang it, ” he said.
He further explained that the ‘Hawks’ had once deceived this country to grant about N1.5 trillion to the same characters it sold its Distribution and Generation facilities at a ridiculous rate of about N400bn.
“Almost eight, ( 8) years after the privatization of the power sector, there has not been any visible improvement in terms of power supply and expansion or investments by the new owners of the DisCos and GenCos.
This position has employed wide attestation by Nigerians up to the National Assembly.
The dismal performance of the sector has been attributed to the fundamental loopholes embedded in the privatization arrangement which has been designed to fall from the beginning.
In the sector performance chain today, the transmission network with a wheeling capacity of 800mn has been strengthened to comfortably wheel out power Generated by the Generation Companies whose average operational generation output is far below the total installed generation capacity they are not generating full capacities.
Nigerians have had to grapple with darkness as the DisCos reject energy wheeled to them by the Transmission Company of Nigeria,” he stated.
“Why would the federal government want to privatize TCN with the improvement made in terms of expansion and strengthened transmission networks?” he queried.
He stated that the 5 yearly performance appraisal process provided for in the Electric Power Sector reforms (EPSR) Acts 2005 has been jettisoned despite calls by Nigerians to review the performances of the sector players.
”A dime has never been declared as profit for governments 40% asset ownership in the privatization Companies till date, yet it remains a profitable table of ‘private gains’, public disaster ‘
”We had alerted the federal government and Nigerians against going into a fraudulent/ fictitious agreement with SIEMENS towards improving Transmission Capacity to a level which the existing Nations Transmission Capacity had surpassed.
It will be recalled that in December 2019, the union embarked on an Industrial Action over none implementation of agreements reached with the federal government over the 2013 privatization and other salient issues bedeviling the power sector,”
The union regrets that despite the intervention of the leadership of the National Assembly and Labour, the Ministry of Power in its deep slumber is still busy pursuing rats when its house is on fire.
“The leadership of a Ministry that cannot coordinate a single meeting with critical stakeholders to address the problems raised by the union leaves much to be desired.
Leaving the Nation’s full Power architecture with the proposed privatization of TCN in the hands of private business owners who lack the expertise to own and run critical economic assets, poses, a serious security risk to the nation as we will be driven by the wimps and caprice of the ”harvesters”,.