The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, has described Nigeria’s electricity sector as “the biggest scam in the country,” accusing powerful interests of taking control of the industry without improving power supply.

Speaking in an interview with Vanguard, Ajaero questioned the true purpose behind the privatization of the power sector, insisting that it was never designed to improve electricity generation or distribution.

“Was privatization meant to improve electricity supply? Privatization was never meant to improve power supply,” he said.

Ajaero, who also serves as General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees, recalled that before privatization, private individuals were issued licences but failed to increase generating capacity.

According to him, the country’s electricity output remained around 4,000 megawatts before and after the unbundling of the former Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

“At the time, I warned that splitting NEPA into multiple companies would still leave them sharing the same 4,000 megawatts, and that is exactly what happened,” he stated.

He argued that the process merely divided the system into several distribution companies without significantly expanding generation, transmission, or distribution infrastructure.

Ajaero also criticised the placement of power plants, describing some projects as politically motivated rather than economically strategic.

According to him, building plants far from gas sources increases costs due to the need for extensive pipelines from the Niger Delta region.

He further advocated for a diversified energy strategy that would include coal-fired plants and hydroelectric projects such as Mambilla and Zungeru to strengthen the country’s electricity supply.

“Countries like Germany still depend heavily on coal for electricity, yet Nigeria has huge coal deposits without functional coal-fired power plants,” he said.

The labour leader also proposed the creation of a unified Ministry of Energy to coordinate gas supply, transmission, and power generation policies more effectively.

Ajaero strongly condemned the electricity tariff band system, which categorises consumers into Bands A, B, and C based on hours of supply.

According to him, the arrangement unfairly favours wealthier urban areas while leaving rural communities with poor electricity access.

“Electricity should be treated as a social service, not something only people who can pay higher tariffs should enjoy,” he argued.

He also blamed the current challenges in the sector on the financial structure of the privatization exercise, alleging that many of the original buyers lacked both technical expertise and sufficient capital.

Ajaero claimed that several electricity distribution companies were acquired through loans from Nigerian banks instead of foreign investment, creating major financial problems within the sector.

“As we speak, many DisCos have already been taken over by banks. The problem is that banks are not electrical engineering companies,” he added.

Power Sector Is Nigeria’s Biggest Scam — NLC President Joe Ajaero

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