A former Public Affairs Manager of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Chijioke Igolo, has levelled explosive allegations against the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, accusing him of betraying more than 47,000 former electricity workers by allegedly colluding with government officials to deny them billions of naira in outstanding entitlements following the privatisation of the power sector.
In an open letter obtained by ChroniclesReporters on Thursday, Igolo alleged that Ajaero, who served as General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) before becoming NLC President, abandoned the workers he once represented by declaring that the Federal Government had settled all obligations to former PHCN employees despite what he described as substantial unpaid benefits.
According to Igolo, the Federal Government still owes former PHCN workers 16 months’ unpaid salaries, a 10 per cent equity entitlement, the government’s 7.5 per cent pension contribution and other outstanding financial benefits that remain unpaid more than a decade after the electricity sector was privatised.
“I want to remind you that some two to three years ago, the ex-PHCN staff who employed you in office discovered that the government is still indebted to them,” Igolo wrote, insisting that the outstanding liabilities were duly established before the payment process was allegedly halted.
He further accused Ajaero of working with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to frustrate the planned payment of the outstanding entitlements.
According to him, when efforts were made to secure the release of the funds, Ajaero allegedly collaborated with officials of the BPE to prevent former workers from receiving what was due to them while publicly maintaining that the Federal Government no longer owed the disengaged employees.
Igolo also alleged that former PHCN workers were assembled inside Army barracks across the country to sign documents for the payment of only one month’s salary, while a select group allegedly benefited from larger sums.
Describing the development as a grave betrayal of trust, he accused Ajaero and unnamed former PHCN officials of sacrificing the welfare of thousands of workers who had entrusted them with the responsibility of protecting their interests.
The former PHCN manager further alleged that over N400 billion accumulated in workers’ superannuation funds, alongside more than N8 billion deducted from employees’ salaries, had been looted by corrupt government officials.
He also referenced former Accountant-General of the Federation, Jonah Otunla, alleging that the ex-government official returned N6 billion after negotiations with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Igolo said the alleged denial of workers’ benefits had left thousands of former PHCN employees devastated, accusing Ajaero of transforming from a labour champion into what he described as “enemy number one” of the workers he once represented.
He added that many disengaged workers had endured years of hardship since the 2013 privatisation exercise and claimed that several had become disillusioned by the prolonged delay in settling their entitlements.
Despite his criticism, Igolo acknowledged Ajaero’s role in resisting the privatisation of the power sector under former President Goodluck Jonathan, recalling that the labour leader had consistently warned that handing Nigeria’s electricity industry to private investors would not solve the country’s power crisis.
According to him, electricity workers repeatedly opposed the sale of PHCN, arguing that successful electricity industries across the world maintained significant public ownership rather than complete privatisation.
More than a decade after the exercise, Igolo argued that the fears expressed by workers had been justified, noting that despite huge public spending on the sector, Nigerians continue to grapple with chronic electricity shortages.
He also questioned the whereabouts of investments allegedly owned collectively by former PHCN workers, including hotels and estates, saying there had been no public accounting of the assets since the workers were disengaged.