The Transmission Company of Nigeria is currently being prepared for sale by the federal government.
The new action follows delayed discussions between the Federal Government and the National Union of Electricity Employees, with the latter threatening to bring the economy to a complete halt.
Under the condition of anonymity, a source with knowledge of the situation said on Thursday that negotiations to settle outstanding disagreements between the employees and the Federal Government had reached a brick wall and were “currently not yielding the desired results.”
According to the source: “The Federal Government is quietly negotiating with buyers to sell the TCN. The process will be announced soon.”
Due to the Federal Government’s failure to meet their demands, the employees have threatened to shut down the national grid a second time.
While briefing reporters in Kaduna on Thursday, Comrade Dukat Ayuba, the Zonal Organising Secretary for the North-West NUEE, reportedly stated that despite ongoing negotiations, the union would launch a new strike.
The privatization process, in his opinion, is a con.
“That was why we kicked against privatising the distribution sector, because the investors don’t have the capacity and expertise. As committed Nigerians, we advised the government against it. But the government was hellbent on doing so,” he added.
He claimed that investors were still using outdated machinery that was 35, 40, and 50 years old and that one would have thought that since they had arrived, the outdated machinery would have been replaced. However, nothing had been done.
He expressed regret that the country continued to produce 5,000 megawatts of power, claiming that it was the same amount as before and had not benefited from privatization.
However, Joe Ajaero, general secretary of NUEE, revealed on Saturday that talks had halted and that no agreement had been reached.
“No agreement yet. They are playing pranks. To compute the money they owe, they said their database is corrupted. Even the meeting of today has been put off,” he disclosed.
