By Victor Ahiuma-Young

LAFIA—NATIONAL Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, yesterday in Lafia, Nasarawa State, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently review the privatization of the electricity sector if it was interested in ensuring stable power supply in the country.

This came as the union berated the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, over his perceived support for increase in electricity tariff despite unstable power supply and planned reintroduction of toll gates on the nation’s high ways.

The immediate past government of President Goodluck Jonathan, in 2013, privatised and handed over the assets of the defunct Power Holding Companies of Nigeria, PHCN, to new investors now known as Distribution Companies, DISCOs and Generation Companies, GENCOs.

At its 5th Quadrennial and 10th National Delegates Conference, taking place in Lafia, President of the union, Mr. Mansur Musa, lamented that since privatization, the new investors in the power sector had not added any improvement to the sector, but had been milking the citizenry dry.

According to him, “While the country still groans in darkness, lack of meters, dearth in power infrastructure and high tariff, the investors smile to the banks at the expense of the workers who have little or nothing to show for their hard work.

“Apart from the investment government made in the sector prior to privatization, investors do not consider it expedient to invest on the growth and development of Electric Power in the country. We strongly advocate for a review of the privatization exercise.”

On his part, General Secretary of the Union, Mr. Joe Ajaero, berated the Power, Works and Housing Minister, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, over his perceived anti-People stance, insisting that the minister’s support of electricity tariff increase in the midst of erratic power s power supply, and planned reintroduction of toll gates on the nation’s high ways, were clearly anti-people.