The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) has criticized the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar’s three-point agenda, which includes privatization of refineries, the rail sector, and the Nigerian Transmission Company (TCN).
According to the union, it was challenging the former Vice President to a national television debate to explain how his regressive economic policies will benefit the people.
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Comrade Joe Ajaero, the union’s General Secretary, revealed this over the weekend in Abuja.
“Our attention has been drawn to newspaper reports released by the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku, outlining a three-point agenda aimed at privatizing refineries, rail, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), and breaking monopolies in all other infrastructure operations,” he said.
According to him, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku was the Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), a government committee tasked with overseeing the privatisation program launched by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration to deal with the disposal of state-owned enterprises.
How many of the over 60 enterprises privatized since he became Chairman of the NCP in 1999 are operating optimally, he asked? From the glorified warehouse that is the Osogbo Steel rolling mill to the abysmal performance of the privatized Generation Companies (GenCos) and Distribution Companies (DisCos) eight (8) years after privatization.
“Despite the Federal Government pumping in about N2 trillion as subsidy to these privately owned companies, power generation has nosedived from 4,000 megawatts to 2000 megawatts in nine years,” he added.
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“Who are these private companies’ ‘faceless’ owners, and why are they shrouded in such secrecy?” Many Nigerians have lost their jobs as a result of the privatisation agenda, many Nigerians have died as a result of non-payment of entitlements, many Nigerians are sick and hungry, and their children have been thrown out of school as the onslaught against the Nigerian masses in the name of privatisation continues.”
