NLC warns FG against N6 trillions payment to GenCo

…charges Nigerians to resist the ‘heist’

Bimbola Oyesola

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) yesterday charged Nigerians to resist what it describes as a “clandestine N6 trillion demand” by power generation companies, warning that any bailout of the sector would amount to a “brazen heist” of public funds.
In a press statement signed by the NLC president, Joe Ajaero, the Congress condemned a recent statement by the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), accusing it of attempting to justify what the NLC termed “a move to loot the public treasury.”
“Our attention has been drawn to the APGC’s press release of February 17,” the NLC said. “We reject entirely their self-serving narrative and misleading characterization of our patriotic demands.”
The Congress maintained that the privatisation of Nigeria’s power sector “was, and remains, a grand deception and a well-orchestrated robbery of the Nigerian people,” insisting that the sector’s performance since the handover to private operators has vindicated its long-held opposition.
At the centre of the dispute is the reported N6 trillion demand by Generation Companies (GENCOs), with the Federal Government said to be considering a N3 trillion bailout. 
The NLC questioned the rationale behind the figures, pointing out that the entire power sector assets were sold for approximately N400 billion.
“Can a man sell his house for N400 billion and then turn around to pay the buyer N3 trillion because the buyer mismanaged the property?” the statement asked. “This is not economics; this is plunder. They call it business, but we call it HEIST.”
The labour body further alleged an “incestuous relationship” between the original sellers of the power assets and the current buyers, describing the proposed bailout as “the final stage of that heist.”
“We dare the APGC to deny that from the very beginning, the sellers of these assets are in bed with the buyers,” the NLC said. “This is primitive accumulation of capital by a comprador elite who have cornered the levers of power.”
Responding to claims that it lacks the competence to understand the sector, the NLC said its members work directly within power plants and are intimately familiar with the industry’s operations. It noted that its affiliate, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), operates daily within the facilities.
“The NLC is not a visitor to this sector. Our members are the workers in the plants,” the statement read. “The leadership of the NLC played active roles in the struggle against this flawed privatisation exercise two decades ago.”
Ajaero also defended the NLC’s use of the phrase “settle the boys,” dismissing APGC’s criticism as “performative outrage.” According to the NLC, the phrase reflects widespread public concern about alleged political patronage and misuse of public funds.
“For the avoidance of doubt, and in the interest of transparency, we dare the APGC to publish a full and comprehensive list of the beneficial owners of all GENCOs and other power assets,” the Congress said. “Let Nigerians see the faces of those demanding this N6 trillion.”
The NLC posed a series of questions to the power firms, including the highest megawatt capacity achieved since privatisation and whether generation has moved beyond the 4,000 to 5,000 megawatts average recorded before the handover.
“Which objective of the privatisation exercise have you met?” the the Congress President asked. “Was it not to improve generation, transmission, and distribution?”
Ajaero accused GENCOs of delivering “darkness and debt” instead of the promised technical expertise and foreign direct investment. It also alleged that tariffs have increased by over 500 per cent since privatisation, despite stagnant generation levels.
Beyond financial concerns, the NLC President also accused some companies of violating labour laws, denying workers their statutory rights, withholding check-off dues, and failing to pay dividends on the 10 per cent equity allocated to workers under the Privatisation Act.
“It amounts to wage theft and robbery to deny workers and their unions check-off dues amounting to millions,” the statement said. “How much dividend has been paid to the Federal Government, which owns about 40 per cent equity? We believe not a single kobo.”
The union further described the N6 trillion demand as immoral, particularly in light of tariff hikes borne by consumers. “Is it not immoral to continue extorting this huge hike in tariffs from Nigerians yet request N6 trillion?” it asked. “This is utterly brazen.”
In a striking claim, the NLC said the failure of the current model was underscored by reports that the President of Nigeria is considering generating independent electricity outside the national grid due to persistent supply challenges.
“If the President, with all the resources of the state, is forced to generate his own power, does that not prove our point?” the Congress asked. “Has the nation not been taken hostage by a cartel?”
The Congress reiterated its call for the state to return as the primary driver of the power sector, arguing that electricity is a social service that should not be treated purely as a commodity.
“We reject the impudent demand for N6 trillion and this planned N3 trillion bailout. We reject the failed privatisation model. The Nigerian people cannot and will not continue to pay for darkness,” NLC President Joe Ajaero said.
The Labour centre urged civil society groups, workers, pensioners, and the wider public to demand full transparency in the power sector and to resist any move that would commit public funds to what it described as a “continuing heist.”