The Coalition for Affordable and Regular Electricity, CARE, has called on Nigerian workers and electricity consumers across the country to resist tariff increment and struggle for massive public investment, free prepaid metres for all consumers and uninterrupted power supply.
It also called on the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, to mobilise the working class and the poor masses to reverse privatization and deregulation policies.
CARE made the calls in a statement issued by Chinedu Bosah and Shoyombo Monsuru, national coordinator and secretary respectively, and made available to FrontPage.
The group said it was unfortunate that the nation had been thrown into darkness in the last three weeks.
The statement reads:
“Many communities have been thrown into darkness in the last three weeks due to poor electricity supply. Though no official reason has been given for this crisis, it could be system collapse as regard transmission and generation or power outage due to poor distribution network and infrastructure. The hardship is unbearable considering the fact that the only alternative for a number of people is the reliance on private expensive electricity generation through generator sets. Sadly, the ongoing fuel scarcity has made it extremely difficult to generate electricity at homes and businesses and as a consequence, the cost of living has skyrocketed. It is unthinkable that we are having this crisis despite a global comparative advantage Nigeria is supposed to have in electricity vis-a-vis gas, abundant solar, wind and hydro reserves while it is also a major crude oil producer.
“Since November 2013 when the power sector was privatized, the story has been constant darkness, tariff hikes, outrageous estimated (crazy) billings and bailout of irresponsible and inefficient power sector companies. Between 2005 the process of privatizing began and today, over $15 billion has been expended on the power sector including the senseless bailouts. The power sector requires massive investment and democratic management, however, the ruling elite is only interested in investing public funds in order to make it continuously profitable for the private profiteers. It appears that the more tariff is hiked, the more the power companies and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) are motivated to fail. The fact is that the power companies are not prepared to improve the electricity supply because they are assured of profit without investment. For instance, the reckless manner the Ibadan Distribution Company directors mismanaged the recent bailouts of N6 billion shows how corrupt these private companies are and yet, nobody has been arrested and prosecuted.
“The current fuel scarcity and poor electricity supply are further evidence of the failure of the Buhari-led regime and the capitalist policies (privatization, deregulation etc). These two sectors are overwhelmingly under the control of the private sector profiteers with the self-serving government playing a bell boy role as so-called regulator. Privatisation and deregulation have only put more money in the pockets of a few privileged and greedy individuals leaving the vast majority of the working masses in more misery and crises. The irony of it all is that the same Buhari-led capitalist government often claims paucity of funds when it comes to public education, healthcare and basic amenities and as a result these critical sectors are underfunded. Besides, the government keep borrowing trillions of Naira only to squander most of it including public funds generated on white elephant projects and bailout of weak and inefficient private companies and capitalist elite.
“Coalition for Affordable and Regular Electricity (CARE) calls on Nigerian workers and electricity consumers across communities to resist tariff increment and struggle for massive public investment, free prepaid meters for all consumers and uninterrupted power supply.
“The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) must end their strategic partnership with the self-serving bourgeois ruling elite and mobilize the working class and the poor masses to reverse the privatization and deregulation policies.
“Fundamentally, the way forward is the renationalization (public ownership) of the power and oil sectors, massive public investments and democratic control and management by the working class and consumers.”
