BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

SENIOR Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, SSEAC, has insisted that all efforts to privatise the assets of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, will come to nothing unless all labour issues that would likely arise are settled.

In an interview with President-General of SSEAC, Mr Bede Opara, warned against the under-valuation of PHCN’s assets, saying it would be a great disservice to the nation.

He faulted the recent hike in electricity tariff, stating, “We are saying make the product available and then put your price. In the spirit of reform, Labour is not saying no to reform. But what labour said earlier was complete no to Privatisation.

“But since government is saying that they must privatize, then they have to pay us. “Investors are asking if there is any future in this business. But it is left for the government to assure them that there is future in the business. We are expecting government to make the product available and it is like the same condition that investors are giving the government and they are agreeing to the investors’ terms.

Electricity workers protesting at the gate of PHCN headquarters in Abuja

“But for saying that the tariff must be increased before investor to come, is what we do not agree to. When government makes the market conducive for investors to come in, they should be able to recoup the amount of money they have pumped into the system.

“That is why we are saying there should be proper assessment of the infrastructure. What is on ground should be valued properly. For instance, if PHCN in the past is worth N20 billion, now that a lot of investments have been made, it should now be N20 bilion plus X value. The X represents the investments that have been made in the sector.”

“Labour position all along has been that privatization will not give us the answer. Why? Our reason then was that we have looked at all companies privatized by BPE, they have failed.  Even if BPE is claiming that about ten of them are doing well. Ten out of 100 is not a pass mark.

“An organization like PHCN is what they want to take into that same market where things don’t go well, we are afraid that things will not go well.  That has been our position in the past and it still remains our position.  If the government wants to privatize, we have told them to go ahead, but they have to settle us. Let me give you the example of Daily Times. I don’t think that company has produced any paper for people to read since privatisation.”

Continuing, he stated, “The whole edifice has become a warehouse where empty cartons by a soft drinks manufacturing company are stored. The workers that left that place what is their position, what has happened to them? The privatization of Daily Times, has it made that place better? What is the guarantee that such a thing that happen there will not happen to PHCN?

“These are our arguments and we want to see that the kind of privatisation that will be done in PHCN will not be that type. The power sector is such a critical sector that you cannot afford to say ‘alright, let us close it down, let us say one year we will pick it up again.’ It is not possible but for other companies you can close it for one year or two before picking it up again. But we cannot afford to do such a thing in the power sector.”