The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) have called on the Federal Government to urgently revoke the privatization of the power and water sectors in Nigeria.
Speaking after a joint meeting in Kano, NUEE’s North West Zonal Organising Secretary I, Ayuba Barde, said the privatization of the sectors has had negative consequences and must be reversed.
“We, as labour and trade unions, have asked the Federal Government to reverse, with immediate effect, the privatization of these sectors because Nigeria was better off when they were under government control,” Barde stated.
He added that the unions had warned against the privatization policy from the beginning, but their concerns were largely ignored.
“From inception, we alerted Nigerians that this policy was not in the country’s best interest. We work in the sector, we understand its strengths and the structural reforms it needed before any form of privatization. Unfortunately, many thought we had ulterior motives.
“Today, Nigerians are experiencing the fallout, low power supply, exorbitant bills, poor metering systems, and inadequate service delivery. These investors are more focused on profit maximization than reinvestment and service improvement,” he said.
Barde further alleged that the privatization process was flawed, with licenses handed to cronies and allies of those in power, rather than being awarded based on market value or sectoral capacity.
“Now, what we have are constant grid collapses, nationwide blackouts, and exploitative billing systems,” he lamented.
In a similar vein, AUPCTRE Acting General Secretary, Lawrence Ilesanmi, said the privatization of the sectors was a result of government shirking its social responsibilities.
“The power sector is a basic social service and should be subsidized by the government. Rather than doing so, the government handed it over to private entities whose primary focus is profit, not public interest,” he said.
He also criticized the privatization of the water sector, warning of its environmental impact.
“For example, the growing reliance on boreholes due to poor public water supply is negatively affecting the soil and water table, with serious environmental consequences,” Ilesanmi added.
Both unions called for a complete overhaul of the privatization process and a return of the power and water sectors to public ownership, emphasizing the need for improved service delivery and accountability to citizens.
