The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC) have clashed over the federal government’s handling of power sector legacy debts.

NLC President Joe Ajaero criticized the government’s plan to release N3 trillion from the Federation Account to power companies (GenCos) as partial repayment of a N6.5 trillion debt. In a statement on Thursday, Ajaero described the proposal as a “heist and grand deception” aimed at shortchanging Nigerians.

“Nigerians cannot and should not continue to pay for darkness,” he said.

In response, Dr. Joy Ogaji, Chief Executive Officer of APGC, countered that Ajaero may not fully understand the situation. She emphasized that the government indeed owes GenCos N6.5 trillion and warned that the ongoing dispute could threaten the stability of the country’s power sector.

Dr. Ogaji also noted that the federal government’s recent N501 billion issuance of power sector bonds is insufficient to clear the accumulated debt.

While the NLC and power companies spar over the legacy debt, many Nigerians continue to suffer from poor electricity supply. On Thursday, the Enugu and Port Harcourt electricity distribution companies reported outages due to a grid collapse, and on Friday, parts of Abuja experienced electricity disruptions.