Nigeria power sector near collapse due to mismanagement- Ajaero

The Nigerian power sector is on the brink of collapse due to what has been described as gross incompetence by its leadership.

According to a statement issued by the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero on Tuesday, the sector’s woes stem from the failure of key regulatory and operational bodies to fulfill their responsibilities.

Ajaero criticised the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for its inability to effectively regulate the sector, despite the extensive powers granted to it under the Electricity Act of 2023.

He further accused the Minister of Power of prioritising frivolous expenditures, including a proposed N8 billion allocation in the 2025 federal budget to “sensitize Nigerians on how to pay electricity bills.”

The NLC President highlighted the persistent collapse of the national grid, attributing it to greed and mismanagement.

He revealed that contractors with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) are owed over N200 billion, thereby hindering capacity-building efforts.

This debt, he noted, remains unresolved despite interventions by unions to prevent the award of additional contracts in December 2024.

Ajaero also accused NERC of colluding with the board of a distribution company (DISCO) to sack its Managing Director for exposing unethical practices. He condemned this action as an attack on whistleblowing and a sign of NERC’s failure to uphold transparency and accountability in the electricity sector.

He warned that failure to address the sector’s challenges would further erode public confidence in government institutions and worsen the socio-economic conditions of Nigerians.

“NERC is therefore telling Nigerians that it is not prepared to discharge its mandate and has thus failed woefully which explains the shamble in the sector.
It is on this basis that we express our profound disappointment and outrage at the absurd quest for allocation of about N8 billion in the 2025 federal budget for the so-called “sensitization of Nigerians on the need to pay electricity bills,” as disclosed by the Honourable Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, during his recent budget defense in the National Assembly.

Those in the Power Ministry and NERC to reinvigorate the sector and save it from total collapse,” Ajaero stated.