By Adewale Sanyaolu
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has said that the persistent power outage in Nigeria had worsened workers’ plight, describing it as a deliberate tool of disempowerment against workers.
In an Easter statement to Nigerian workers at the weekend, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said the chronic absence of electricity is no longer a mere technical failure.
“It cripples industries, kills small businesses, and plunges homes into darkness, making it impossible for workers to live with dignity,” he said.
Ajaero also decried soaring transport costs, which he said “devour wages, steal time, and reduce existence to a daily struggle for survival.”
He argued that the sacrifices forced on workers—wage losses, insecurity, and limited opportunities—benefit only a privileged few while ordinary Nigerians bear the cost.
The labour leader urged political leaders to take a page from the Cross, seeing governance as sacrificial service rather than an avenue for personal enrichment.
“Policies must be tools of liberation, not weapons of oppression,” he said.
Drawing parallels with the resurrection, Ajaero warned: “Just as Christ at the Cross destroyed the hold of darkness, we demand that the government use its power to break the chokehold of poverty, exploitation, insecurity, and infrastructure collapse on the people.”
He called for urgent action to restore public transportation, resolve the electricity crisis, stop the killings, and prioritise the welfare of Nigerians over the profits of a privileged few.
“The resurrection of Jesus demonstrates triumph. Likewise, the Nigerian worker shall rise from the grave of poverty, exploitation, and bad governance, but only through collective struggle, solidarity, and refusal to accept the unacceptable,” he added.
NLC’s maintained that the power crisis is not a technical issue alone but as a systemic weapon that deepens inequality, highlighting the urgent need for responsive governance and tangible solutions for the working class.
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