The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has described as “absurd” the N8 billion allocated in the 2025 federal budget to sensitise Nigerians on the need to pay electricity bills.
This was revealed in a statement signed by the President of the union, Comrade Joe Ajaero on Tuesday.
The Federal Ministry of Power had proposed a budget of N8 billion for 2025 to educate Nigerians on the importance of timely payment of electricity bills.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu during his budget defence at the National Assembly on Monday, revealed the initiative, which he said aims to address the challenges of power theft, poor payment habits, and the protection of national power assets.
Adelabu explained that the campaign would be conducted through multiple media platforms, including social, digital, and print, to reach Nigeria’s diverse population of over 200 million effectively.
The minister emphasised the need for a nationwide reorientation regarding the country’s power sector. He noted that many Nigerians still need to understand that electricity is not a free resource and that the sector’s infrastructure and assets must be protected to ensure a stable power supply across the nation.
Reacting, Ajaero said the ministry’s demand was “absurd”, urging those in the Power Ministry and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to reinvigorate the sector and save it from total collapse.
The statement titled ‘Before The Collapse Of The Power Sector: N8 Billion Budget For Electricity Bill Sensitization And Matters Arising’, highlighted gross corruption in the power sector, and the inability of the leaders to find lasting solutions to power challenges despite huge investments in the sector.
“The Power sector in Nigeria is at the brink of collapse as the helmsmen have repeatedly shown gross incompetence. It is a sector where the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) despite the enormous power invested in it by the Electricity act of 2023 has continuously demonstrated incapacity to regulate or outrightly refused to discharge its responsibilities to electricity consumers in Nigeria while the Minister in charge is enamoured with seeking about N8billion (Eight Billion Naira) to teach Nigerians how to pay electricity bill.
“It is therefore not surprising that power grid collapse is now a constant as it has continued to succumb to greed and crass incompetence.
“Whereas the Minister seeks N8 billion (Eight Billion Naira) to educate us, contractors in the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) who help in delivering capacity are owed over N200 billion (Two Hundred Billion Naira).”
