The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has strongly criticized the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, for his recent claim that more than 150 million Nigerians now enjoy “adequate electricity.” The union described the statement as a serious misrepresentation of the real situation facing millions of Nigerians who continue to struggle with unreliable power supply.
In a statement released on Wednesday and signed by its President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, the NLC dismissed the Minister’s remarks, made during the 2025 Ministerial Sectoral Update Conference in Abuja, as “pretentious” and “a bad joke.” Minister Adelabu had attributed the supposed progress to Nigeria’s involvement in the World Bank and African Development Bank’s “Mission 300” initiative, which aims to provide electricity access to 300 million Africans by 2030.
However, the NLC argued that the reality on the ground tells a very different story. “This wild assertion is not only pretentious, it is a bad joke on a people daily confronted by grinding darkness, outrageous electricity tariffs, and a power sector manipulated for private profit,” Ajaero said.
The union pointed out that Nigeria’s national grid has never generated more than 5,500 megawatts of electricity, a figure it says is nowhere near enough for a country of over 200 million people. According to the NLC, to truly meet the needs of the population, Nigeria should be producing at least 150,000 megawatts.
“Millions of Nigerians, from urban slums to rural communities, continue to live without access to electricity,” the NLC stated. “The few who have access do so under constant threat of disconnection, blackouts, and financial exploitation through a complex pyramid of inflated tariffs.”
The NLC also criticized the privatization of the power sector, blaming it for prioritizing profit over service delivery. The union claims that, more than a decade after the sector was privatized, there has been little improvement in electricity supply, while consumers continue to face high costs and unreliable service.
Recent data from the World Bank supports the NLC’s stance, showing that only about 60% of Nigerians had access to electricity as of 2022, with rural access even lower at just 27%. Even those with access often experience frequent outages and poor service quality.
Despite government efforts and international support to improve the situation, Nigeria’s electricity supply remains inconsistent and insufficient for its growing population. The NLC is calling for urgent reforms and greater accountability in the power sector to address these longstanding issues.
