By Victor Ahiuma-Young
OGUN — THE Olorunsogo power plant in Ogun State, that was handed over to Chinese by the Federal Government on Tuesday (a public holiday), has been shut down by aggrieved workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, who yesterday locked out the Chinese from the plant.

The Minister of State for Power, Nuhu Wya, had on Tuesday, after a meeting with the management of the plant and its major contractor, Sepco, handed it a letter of authority from the government.

Vanguard gathered that the aggrieved workers are said to be protesting among others, perceived fraudulent manner surrounding the purported hand over, racist behaviour of the Chinese and unresolved labour issues.

However, the national leadership of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, has waded into the crisis and invited the plant’s unit labour leaders for a meeting today to examine their grievances and what should be done.

Speaking to Vanguard, General Secretary of NUEE, Comrade Joe Ajaero, blamed the Minister of  Power for the crisis, wondering what informed the decision to hand over the plant on a public holiday when it was obvious that labour issues were unresolved.

According to him, “just Tuesday, on a public holiday, we got information that the Minister of Power went to Olorunsogo Power Station that was built by the Federal Government with a  loan from China, to hand it over to Chinese and some so-called Nigerian partners led by one Adeleke.

“There was no information about this before that day.  Before then, when the place was almost completed, the Chinese decided not to operate. There was high level of sabotage by the Chinese not to operate it.

“The agreement was that when the station is operated, power generated there would be sold to repay the loan got from the Chinese. But the Chinese decided not to operate it. Besides that, the Chinese wrote the engineering manual in Chinese Language.”

So, before now there were some syndicated reports quoting sources from the Bureau for Public Enterprises, BPE, that the Nigerian Engineers because they cannot understand Chinese language, the plant should be sold. Because of that, Nigerian Engineers became very angry because when the Chinese withdrew, even with the Chinese manual, the PHCN workers have been pushing out about 100 mega watts consistently.

Go and check out the daily broadcast of generation. That was the beginning of this idea of handing it over to the Chinese through their Nigerian accomplices.”

“So, on that the Minister went there and announced that he has handed it over to the Chinese and their Nigerian investors. Immediately, the Chinese refused Nigerian Engineers into the power plant. So, the following that, which was yesterday, (Wednesday), the workers decided to respond  Throughout Wednesday, I was in the National Assembly. This morning (yesterday), we got a report that the workers have locked the Chinese out of the place. So, the place has remained shut.

But this afternoon, the Minister of Power was able to get across to me and I told him that he went there to create crisis and that we are trying to manage the crisis. I have sent for the union leadership there to meet with them Tomorrow (today) to find out what is on ground and see what can be done. But the issue is that the government or the minister never took us into consideration in what they are doing.

This has proven to them that they can sell a place from their luxurious hotel room, but it is another thing to transfer the place. It is also another thing, to take care of the interest of the people working in the place. Those are some of the things we must harmonised. Whatever they are doing cannot work until all the labour issues are addressed.”