A revolutionary group under the name, Revolutionary Socialist Movement (RSM), has called for mass action by the civil society against the Nigerian establishment over the lingering poor state of the power sector in Nigeria.
In a statement issued by the group and made available to SaharaReporters, the group called on the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) to declare a day of actions.
This, they said, would “begin to send signal to the ruling class and the corrupt DisCos and GenCos management that it is time that they stop exploiting public funds and pay back the people of Nigeria what they have already pocketed.”
In the statement signed by the group’s spokesman, Kayode Salako, RSM said the only way Nigerians can begin to resolve the crisis in the power sector, is by such mass action
The group condemned the repeated collapse of the national power grid that has led to regular national power outage and blackout, arguing that the Nigerian power sector has suffered from massive corruption and manipulation since the sector was privatized.
According to RSM, the privatization of Nigeria’s power sector has made it difficult for Nigerians to have 24-hour electricity supply, and as result, “43% of Nigerians don’t have access to electricity, so they are forced to rely on solar power, power banks and generators.”
The privatization according to the group has also affected Nigeria’s World Bank global ranking in terms of power generation and distribution, as the country ranks 171 out of 190 nations in terms of access to electricity.
According to the RSM, there should be an end to the estimated billing system, pointing out that electricity consumers must only be made to pay for actual power they consumed.
“The RSM stands completely against the ‘estimated billing’ system and demands that all customers pay according to their actual consumption. All citizens of Nigeria deserve 24-hour electricity coverage, at an affordable price considering their incomes.
“It’s on this basis that the RSM is calling on Nigerian workers, small medium enterprise, farmers, students and youth to demand an end to this hardship. Join us in demanding the renationalisation of the power sector without compensation to the energy giants. All the wealth of the power sector should return in the hands of society that has paid for it.
“We are also asking for the democratization of the power sector, which should be controlled and managed by the elected representatives of the working people and the local communities,” they said.
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