Nigeria needs $3.2billion to pay PHCN workers

Workers protest at  PHCN headquarters

File photo of Workers protesting at the old PHCN office

Nigeria’s Federal government needs about N500 billion, more than $3billion to pay the full entitlements of electricity workers, to be affected by privatization.

File photo of Workers protest at PHCN headquarters: Govet need $3.2billion to pay severance package
General Secretary of the National Union of Electricity Employees, Joe Ajaero, made this known Saturday during an interactive session with newsmen in Lagos.

Ajaero said that of the amount, N400 billion would required for workers’ gratuity, while N100 billion would be used to pay pension arrears.

He said that it was not the Ministry of Power that should announce what the Federal Government would disburse as severance package to PHCN workers.

The general secretary said that the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) was in a better position to announce the cost of settlement.

He said it was regrettable that in industrial relation practice, implementing an agreement was always a major problem, after all issues had been resolved.

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He expressed the hope that in 2013, the entitlement of the workers would be paid to enable Nigerians enjoy the expected 5000 mega watts of electricity.

“We are expecting about 5000 mega watts of electricity from the Nigeria Integrated Power Project (NIPP) by next year. We believe this will boost electricity supply to consumers,’’ he said.

The union’s scribe noted that the NIPP project, which had gulped about N37 billion, should have been inaugurated before the end of 2012.

He said that if the project was inaugurated in 2013, it would coincide with the effort of the private investors, to improve electricity supply.

He, however, warned those giving various interpretations to the agreement signed between the government and the union, to desist from doing so, to enable the workers to get their severance package.

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