The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has sharply criticized the recent statement by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who claimed that 150 million Nigerians are now enjoying adequate electricity supply from a national output of 5,500 megawatts. The NLC described the statement as an “outrageous” and “insulting” fabrication that mocks the harsh reality faced by most Nigerians.
In a statement released on Wednesday by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, the union dismissed the minister’s claim as not only implausible but also deeply disconnected from the lived experience of millions who struggle daily with erratic or nonexistent electricity supply.
“The Minister’s wild assertion is not just pretentious—it’s a cruel joke played on a nation battling chronic power shortages, inflated electricity tariffs, and a system manipulated for private gain rather than national development,” Ajaero stated.
He compared the minister’s claim to a biblical miracle, saying, “Perhaps the Minister wants to perform Jesus’ miracle of feeding 5,000 with five loaves and two fish.”
Ajaero emphasized that the statement was an affront to the intelligence of Nigerians, especially given that the country consistently fails to meet even the modest benchmark of 5,000 megawatts—a far cry from the international standard of 1,000 megawatts per million people. According to the NLC, to credibly claim that 150 million Nigerians are served, the country would need to generate at least 150,000 megawatts.
He posed critical questions to the minister: “Where are the power plants that produce this supposed capacity? Where is the improved transmission infrastructure to handle such output? Why do our homes remain in darkness and our industries continue to close shop?”
The NLC also noted that despite Nigeria’s electricity generation rarely crossing 5,500 megawatts, and even then being inconsistent, the government is now planning to privatize the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)—the last publicly held entity in the power value chain. The union condemned the move, describing it as another step in an ongoing agenda to hand over national assets to private interests without accountability.
Tracing the roots of the sector’s problems, Ajaero said the 2013 privatization of the power sector was a “grand betrayal,” with national infrastructure sold off to cronies for a mere N400 billion. Over a decade later, he argued, there has been no improvement in service delivery. Instead, the same poorly performing Generation and Distribution Companies (GenCos and DisCos) continue to receive massive government subsidies—over N4 trillion—without corresponding progress.
He added that the government’s latest tariff hike, masked under a misleading classification of Band A, B, and C, is nothing more than a ploy to exploit Nigerians further. He cited the over N700 billion collected by DisCos from consumers as evidence of exploitation, despite the continued unreliability and inaccessibility of electricity.
“It’s either those in charge have lost their sense of empathy, or they simply do not care about the plight of the suffering Nigerian masses,” Ajaero said. “While those holding the power sector together—its workers—remain underpaid and undervalued, officials at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and their private sector allies enrich themselves unchecked.”
Calling the current state of the power sector a case of “organized profiteering,” the NLC warned against the continued deception and public manipulation. “Nigerians are tired of propaganda and statistical gymnastics. If power generation, transmission, and distribution improve, we will feel it in our homes and factories—not just hear about it in press releases.”
The union concluded with a strong warning: it would not stand idly by while Nigerians are exploited. It vowed to use every democratic and lawful means to expose and resist policies that harm the populace, reaffirming its
