NLC Blames Government for National Grid Collapse

By: Chinedu Echianu

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has accused the federal government of lacking seriousness in fixing the power sector, following the total collapse of the national electricity grid on Thursday.
In a strongly worded statement signed by its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, the NLC described the recurring nationwide blackouts as “not an accident” but the outcome of a system deliberately structured to fail. “The power sector has been designed for perpetual darkness,” Ajaero said, alleging that successive administrations have prioritized the interests of private operators and political cronies over the welfare of citizens.

The union criticised the privatization of the power sector, arguing that it has failed to deliver reliable electricity supply more than a decade after it was implemented. It also faulted the appointment of what it called “unqualified political cronies” into key regulatory positions, citing the case of a former local government chairman heading the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

According to the NLC, the federal government’s reported plan to inject N4 trillion into the sector amounts to “an economic betrayal” of Nigerians. The Congress rejected the bailout, insisting that such funds should be channelled into a state-led initiative to build new power plants and rehabilitate transmission infrastructure instead of supporting what it described as “failed operators.”
“The problem is not technical; it is a problem of predatory power sector governance and a weak economic model,” the statement read. “This N4 trillion is enough to begin a radical, people-driven process of building a new, democratically controlled power sector.”

The NLC further demanded a comprehensive public audit of the sector since privatization, alongside a review of the policy itself. It also called for a change in leadership within the industry, urging government to appoint competent and patriotic technocrats rather than “political jobbers.”
Highlighting the economic and social toll of constant power outages, the union said the collapse of the grid continues to cripple small businesses, stifle industrial growth, create mass unemployment, and force households to pay “exorbitant tariffs for darkness.”
“The working class and suffering masses of Nigeria will no longer tolerate this darkness,” Ajaero declared. “The light must come on, by any means necessary.”