Electricity workers want FG to review power privatization

President of the union Comrade Bede Opara, over the weekend in Lagos said that the development was necessary in order to identify unqualified investors, and apply sanctions on both the companies and officers that were complicit in their success during the bid process.Opera also tasked the new administration  to  review the terms of sale to […]

President of the union Comrade Bede Opara, over the weekend in Lagos said that the development was necessary in order to identify unqualified investors, and apply sanctions on both the companies and officers that were complicit in their success during the bid process.
Opera also tasked the new administration  to  review the terms of sale to determine compliance, with sanctions applied where necessary. 
He urged Buhari’s administration to commence immediate auditing of the companies to determine their financial state and indebtedness where applicable, including liabilities in payments to date as well as an appraisal of performance indices of investors with a view to enhancing their prospects of service delivery in the short term.
The union demanded a speedy review of the Power Sector Act, 2005 to reflect the overriding interests of the country and strengthen the regulatory competence and authority of Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

It said there is need for compliance with labour laws and local content policy by investors including the constitutional and fundamental right of workers to unionize.
“There should be an end put to the casualization of workers without negotiated conditions of service (C.O.S) and a stop to the culture of replacing Nigerians with foreigners and a  phased re-privatization of recovered assets after the reviews,” it said.
According Opara, the federal government needs to reinvigorate investment in generation, transmission and distribution in lieu of credible and capable investors.
He emphasized the need to exploit alternative energy sources and other types of power generation including coal, solar and wind and enforce the gas-to-power policy to achieve higher power generation and protect the environment from gas flaring.