The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has raised serious concerns over what it described as a suspicious plan to spend nearly N20 billion on grid expansion by officials within the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
In a letter to Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu, NLC President Joe Ajaero alleged that the so-called “emergency refurbishment” initiative is a cover for financial mismanagement, warning that the plan could leave TCN weaker and its operational capacity crippled for years.
Ajaero said the cabal within TCN intends to exploit the emergency label to bypass proper procurement procedures, potentially disguising money laundering as grid development.
“We write to you with grave concern as a labour movement watching a strategic national asset being systematically disembowelled. We wish to alert your Ministry to what appears to be an imminent large-scale heist being orchestrated within the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) by a group of officials who seem to have abandoned their oath of service in favour of a gluttonous rush to ‘cash out,’ even if it results in the collapse of the company’, the union wrote.
“Honourable Minister, we demand your immediate intervention to halt this dangerous trend. To underscore the urgency of this matter, we present specific and glaring examples of what appears to be a blueprint for looting.
“If this goes ahead, the grid will become a permanent patient in the emergency room, not due to lack of technology, but because funds meant to fix it are being stolen,” it added.
The NLC pointed to specific expenditures that it deemed highly questionable, including N191 million for erosion control at Tower T89 Ihovbor, Okada, N290.6 million for fencing and drainage at the Biu 132/33KV substation, and N226 million for Tower T27 at Etsako, Okpella, Ajaokuta.
ENigeria Newspaper also gathered that the Congress also alleged that the same equipment, that is specialised transformers and switchgears, was being purchased repeatedly from a single supplier at inflated costs, while consumables such as insulators, conductors, and clamps were reportedly being overstocked well above market rates.
In light of these claims, Ajaero urged the Power Minister to immediately halt all ongoing emergency procurement at TCN and initiate a full forensic audit.
He also called for an investigation into the sale of lands behind the TCN substation in Katampe, Abuja, and a questionable attempt to promote a staff member employed in 2021 to Assistant General Manager in 2026, which the NLC said violates TCN’s employment rules.
