Power sector privatization has failed Nigerians – CUPP

The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has issued a scathing indictment of Nigeria’s power sector privatization, describing it as a catastrophic failure that has plunged households into darkness, deepened poverty, and crippled small businesses nationwide.

In a statement released on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, the National Secretary of CUPP, Chief Peter Ameh, condemned the 2013 privatization exercise as a “colossal misstep” that has entrenched inefficiency, corruption, and waste in a sector that millions of Nigerians depend on for basic survival.

According to CUPP, the promise of improved power supply and efficiency through privatization has turned into a nightmare. While the pre-privatization era under NEPA and PHCN produced an average of 3,800 megawatts (MW) under a single Managing Director/CEO, the current sector—now divided into 25 entities—generates a meager 5,400MW, despite being run by over 25 managing directors and more than 100 executive directors.

“This is nothing short of a looting spree disguised as reform,” Ameh said. “These companies have failed to expand infrastructure or improve power generation, yet continue to burden Nigerians with outrageous electricity tariffs.”

He accused the companies of prioritizing self-enrichment over national interest, with scarce revenue channeled into bloated executive salaries instead of investment in grid development and service delivery. The CUPP scribe also lamented that despite producing only marginally more power than in 2009, the sector now consumes far more resources, while delivering less to the people.

The impact, CUPP warned, has been devastating for Nigerian households. Many families now allocate a significant portion of their income to electricity bills, often for power they barely receive. Small businesses—especially those operating from homes, like tailoring and barbing—are closing shop under the weight of erratic supply and unbearable costs.

“Children are studying in darkness. Families are cutting back on food and medicine just to pay for electricity they don’t get. This is a betrayal of public trust,” the statement read.

CUPP further criticized the recent tariff hikes as “illogical and predatory,” accusing electricity companies of punishing Nigerians for their own failures. The coalition argued that the firms’ inability to expand their customer base or boost generation has resulted in revenue shortfalls, which they now attempt to recover by overcharging the few customers still connected to the grid.

“Instead of fixing their inefficiencies, they are extorting the public. This is not about illiquidity—it is systemic sabotage masked as reform,” CUPP declared.

To address the crisis, CUPP is demanding a forensic audit of all privatized power entities to expose the scale of mismanagement and financial impropriety. The group is also calling on the federal government to consider reversing privatization where necessary and to impose a moratorium on further tariff increases until measurable improvements in power delivery are recorded.

“The Nigerian people cannot continue to suffer under a privatization model that enriches a few while leaving millions in the dark. Enough is enough. The time to act is now,” Chief Ameh concluded.

As calls for reform grow louder, public pressure is mounting on the federal government to urgently revisit its approach to the power sector—an issue many believe is central to unlocking Nigeria’s economic potential.