General Secretary, Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has said privatisation of power sector has created more problems, saying that it has not achieved its targeted purpose.
Ajaero, who spoke in Abuja Tuesday at a workshop organised by the union for state and chapters officials, also decried estimated billing and urged electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOS) to made prepaid meters available to Nigerians.
The theme of the workshop was “Effective Leadership Strategies and Grievance Handling in a Privatised Sector.’’
He said the estimated billing in the power sector has done more harm than good.
According to him, people have been driven out of their small scale businesses because they cannot pay the current tariff as the companies have refused to supply prepaid meters.
“You cannot tell me to pay N20, 000 at the end of the month as my bill for electricity without any kind of measurement in terms of consumption hours that I used within the period.
“So, without prepaid meter, it is a kind of exploitation and electricity cannot be sold without a measurement which is the meter.
“I want to call on the federal government to have a re-think in that direction to ensure that the meters are made available to all, ‘’ he said.
Ajaero, who is also the President of the United Labour Congress, also said: “Privatisation has not done any good to this country, but rather it has created more problems, especially in the power sector and Nigerians are yet to see efficient service delivery.
Also, NUEE President Mr Martins Uzoegwu said the workshop was organised to address some major challenges faced by members of the union in the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
“The workshop is to enlighten the state and chapter officials on how to address grievances confronting them and also how to communicate through the right channel in achieving their goals and objectives, ’’he said.
The Senior Manager, Human Resources Operation, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Mr Joseph Adeneyi, pledged that the disco will continue to partner for peace and progress of the union.
