BREAKING NEWS, Power
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The National Union of Electricity Employees and the Trade Union Congress urge power firms in Nigeria to stop exploiting the masses through estimated electricity bills
| By Anayo Ezugwu | Apr 4, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT |
THE National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, have urged stakeholders in the power sector especially companies who benefited from the privatisation process, to stop exploiting Nigerians in their desperate drive to maximise profit. The unions urged the electricity Distribution Companies, Discos, to desist from estimated billings of customers without commiserate services, but rather seek better ways of meeting customers’ consumption.
Joe Ajaero, secretary general, NUEE, who spoke in Jos, Plateau State, when the union visited Nigerian Electricity Supply Corporation Limited, NESCO, called on Discos to take a cue from the NESCO model where customers got value for their money and the management maintained healthy industrial relations with its staff despite the difficulty in the generation and distribution of power.
He said, “There is no justification that there is no efficiency but there has been a third tariff increment. NESCO has been a private company from inception yet the management always negotiate with staff and implement what has been agreed without coercion. Some people should not hijack what belongs to everyone and say you are in private practice. They should come and learn the NESCO model and apply same so they can efficiently meet customers’ needs and end the era of serving their customers estimated billing without services rendered.”
Responding, Christopher de-Krestser, managing director, NESCO, who showed appreciation for the visit being the first official from NUEE to the company, disclosed that the company had been in business since 1922 and would continue to provide quality services to its customers. He noted that the state government and the union members in the company had been supportive in making the company to record success stories and urged the NUEE members to continue giving their best to lift the company to a greater height.
However, Bala Kaigama, president TUC, said the union would never support the move by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission and the electricity distribution and generation companies to increase the electricity tariff. Kaigama, who made this known in an electronic mail on Sunday, March 20, said the organised labour embarked on protest against the increment because it was against the citizenry.
“The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria reiterates its position against moves by the Nigeria Electricity Commission, distribution and generation companies to increase electricity tariff. The move is anti-people and it lacks every sense of logicality hence the series of protest and picketing of offices of NERC and electricity distribution companies throughout the country.
“At a meeting held with officials of NERC March 17, 2016, the congress described as lame the argument in some quarters that an act of the National Assembly actually empowers the commission to unilaterally increase tariff and that the act cannot be tampered with even by the Federal Parliament. For us, any act or policy that does not consider the poor masses is undemocratic and evil. It is evil because it further impoverishes the masses,” he said.
Kaigama insisted that it was unacceptable for the NERC and the firms to give “abominable” bills to Nigerians without first making them partners if they needed their contributions in the businesses.
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