Planned restructuring of Power Transmission of Nigeria (TCN) has hidden intentions, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said.

The President of the Congress, Joe Ajaero, in a statement, yesterday, in Abuja, faulted the plan by the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, and declared that the plan portends danger to the power sector and holds great fear and trepidation for major stakeholders within the sector.

NLC observed that the idea behind the plans to restructure is the same before presented during the plan for failed privatisation exercise of the sector.

The statement reads: “When words like unbundling are bandied about in Nigeria, the masses and
workers become frightened because of the level of misery such words have foisted on the people.

Unbundling heralded the death of the downstream sector and sounded the death knell of the Power sector and raised its ugly spectre once again at this time when the people are facing serious socioeconomic challenges that may compound the woes of the people.”

NLC warned that the disaster that will befall the nation’s power sector would be multidimensional if the plan is executed.

“The quest to ultimately hand over the transmission infrastructure would expose the nation to blackmails and weaken the ability of the sector to transmit and distribute power around the country. Privatising it will create the same crisis prevailing within the DISCOs and GENCOs and will impact the quality-of-service deliverance by the power sector to Nigerians,” it noted.”

It said it warned that the privatisation exercise would end in tears as Nigerians are presently witnessing high tariffs.

“Today, Nigerians have witnessed a 500 per cent tariff increase yet, there is no improvement in services to Nigerians. The Power sector remains stagnant as no significant investment was made by those who bought the GENCOs and DISCOs through proxies. What we are reaping today are the unfortunate outcomes of the errors of yesterday and it is obvious that we are bent on going the same route.

He alleged that the main motive behind the plans for the proposed restructuring was none other than to prepare the TCN for eventual takeover by the cronies and lackeys of the ruling elite.