The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has asked the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu to resign over the repeated collapse of the national grid.
In a statement on Tuesday night, NLC President Joe Ajaero said he was worried sick about the state of the electricity sector. He said it was on the brink of collapse, citing the frequency of grid failures under this administration.
Ajaero knocked the Ministry of Power for its handling of the crisis, saying competent hands could have prevented these collapses. He quoted the Minister who recently said such failures are normal, and called it an admission of inability and failure.
Ajaero said the frequency of grid collapses under this administration is more than the total collapses under previous administrations.
He said Nigerians want a serious approach to power issues not just dismissive comments.
The NLC president also faulted the ₦8 billion allocation in the 2025 budget for public sensitization on electricity bill payment. He said it’s a misplaced priority when contractors in the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) are owed over ₦200 billion.
Ajaero said the Ministry is prioritizing frivolous projects over critical infrastructure. He said unions intervened in December 2024 to stop further unnecessary contracts from being awarded, and that better financial management is needed in the sector.
The NLC also accused the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) of failing in its regulatory duties.
Ajaero said NERC has consistently shown incompetence and lack of will to protect Nigerian electricity consumers.
He cited a recent case where NERC colluded with the board of a distribution company to sack its MD for exposing corruption. Instead of rewarding whistleblowers,
Ajaero said, NERC punished them, and that’s undermining its own mandate for transparency and efficiency.
The NLC further stated that it will continue to watch the power sector and warned against using the budget to fund frivolous spending.
Ajaero asked the federal government to address the issues in the sector before it collapses completely. If not, he said, public trust in governance will further erode.
The NLC said accountability is key, and incompetence must not be tolerated and public funds must be used to address Nigeria’s power problems.