The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has fiercely criticized Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu’s recent claim that 150 million Nigerians currently enjoy “adequate electricity” from a supply capacity of 5,500 megawatts, describing it as a “wild and outrageous assertion” that insults the intelligence of the Nigerian people.
In a strongly worded statement on Wednesday, NLC President Joe Ajaero described the minister’s comment as “a joke taken too far,” arguing that the claim flies in the face of the daily reality faced by millions of Nigerians, who live in perpetual darkness, endure relentless blackouts, and are burdened by unaffordable electricity tariffs.
“Perhaps the Minister wants to perform Jesus’ miracle of feeding 5,000 persons with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish,” Ajaero quipped. “To suggest that 150 million Nigerians have access to reliable electricity from a barely consistent 5,000 megawatts is not just absurd—it’s an insult to the pain of everyday citizens.”
The NLC emphasized that Nigeria requires at least 150,000 megawatts to meet the global benchmark of 1,000 megawatts per one million people. Even on its best day, the country has never generated more than 5,500 megawatts—and that figure remains unstable and unreliable due to weak infrastructure and mismanagement.
Ajaero traced Nigeria’s electricity woes to the controversial 2013 privatization of the power sector, which he labeled a “grand betrayal”. He accused the government of selling critical infrastructure to political cronies for a paltry N400 billion, with no improvement in service delivery over a decade later.
“Over N4 trillion in public subsidies has been poured into these private firms—GenCos and DISCOS—without accountability or improved power supply. No sanctions, no penalties. Just impunity,” Ajaero said. “The buyers of these companies were essentially the same as the sellers.”
Now, the NLC warns, the government is making moves to sell off the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)—the last publicly owned component of the power chain. The union described this as “economic deceit masquerading as reform”, and warned of dire consequences if the transmission network falls into private hands.
“This is nothing more than a blatant attempt to hand over the last national power asset to the elite. Nigerians should brace for even worse electricity service if this goes through,” the NLC warned.
The NLC also lambasted the recent electricity tariff hike disguised under the new “Band A, B, C” classification system, calling it “a sophisticated scam to legitimize mass exploitation.”
Despite DISCOS raking in over N700 billion from customers, Nigerians still suffer epileptic supply. “Many are now forced to choose between feeding their families and paying electricity bills,” Ajaero noted.
Meanwhile, the union decried the poor wages and working conditions of power sector employees, even as top officials of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and private sector profiteers live large off regulatory loopholes.
“The officials entrusted with regulating this sector have turned into enablers of exploitation. What we are witnessing is not reform—it is systemic profiteering,” Ajaero stated.
The NLC called on the Federal Government to stop “insulting Nigerians with propaganda and cooked statistics.” The union vowed to use all lawful and democratic means to resist the ongoing deception and fight for equitable access to power.
“Nigerians deserve truth, respect, and real change—not empty promises and television claims. If power has improved, we’ll see it in our homes, not on the pages of newspapers,” the union said.
