Fakoyejo OlalekanThe Presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has been criticised by workers under the umbrella of National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) for his electricity privatisation plan.
Abubakar had stated his intention to privatise Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which is the only electricity firm still under government control, if voted into Aso Rock. He also plans to break government monopoly on other infrastructure activities, his three-point agenda disclosed.
However, this agenda wasn’t welcomed by the electricity workers who said his ideas are dead on arrival, accusing him of trying to appropriate national assets to his associates, and finish what is left of the country’s patrimony.
NUEE, in a statement issued by its General Secretary, Joe Ajaero, said over 60 enterprises were privatised when Abubakar was chairman of the National Council on Privatization (NCP) in 1999, when he was Vice President of Nigeria. The group questioned how many of the privatised government properties are still functioning.
The NCP is a government committee that managed the privatisation programme created by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to handle the disposal of public enterprises. The NUEE alleged most of the properties were bought through cronies.
According to Ajaero, 17 of the 18 companies sold in the power sector are yet to break even, while describing the performance of privatised Generation Companies (GenCos) and Distribution Companies (DisCos) in the last eight years as abysmal. Note that the GenCos and DisCos were privatised under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
“It is with a deep sense of patriotism that we inform Nigerians about the present motive of the PDP presidential candidate, who seems to want to finish what is left of our common patrimony as a nation.” the group said in the statement.
Adding “Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was chairman of the National Council on Privatization, NCP, a government committee entrusted with the responsibility of managing the privatization programme initiated by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration to handle the disposal of public enterprises.
“Some persons have been alleged of literally buying almost every enterprise on offer through their cronies and fronts. Of the over 60 enterprises privatised when he became NCP chairman in 1999, how many of them are functioning optimally?
“From the Osogbo Steel rolling mill, which has become a glorified warehouse to the abysmal performances of the privatised Generation Companies (GenCos) and Distribution Companies, DisCos, over eight years after privatization.
“From 17 of the 18 ompanies sold in the power sector, none is yet to break even, while the Federal Government has pumped in about N2 trillion as subvention to these privately owned companies.” the statement reads.
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