PSI, DGB charges Trade Unions on campaign planning in electricity, water and waste sectors

By Mashe Umaru Gwamna

On 2nd and 3rd October 2025, the Public Service International (PSI) and DGB hosted a two-day Campaign and Strategy Meeting on “Promoting Transparency and Decent work in the Supply Chain in Electricity, Water and Waste Services in Sub-Saharan Africa” at the Muna Suites in Owerri, Imo State, in collaboration with the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) and civil society organisations.
The meeting aimed to capacitate trade unions, civil society activists and focal persons with the required skills and competences to effectively implement the project. It also served as an opportunity for the participants to elaborate strategies on how to engage legislators and policy makers in implementing concrete advocacy actions and campaigns.
During the opening formalities, remarks were taken from AUPCTRE Acting General Secretary, Comrade Lawrence Alo, NUEE General Secretary, Comrade Dominic Igwebike and Comrade Sani Baba, the Executive Director of Citizens Free Service Forum (CFSF), representing civil society.
In his welcome words, National Coordinator of the project, Comrade Abiodun Bakare explained that the project had made tremendous impact on the trade unions and civil society partners especially in Lagos where pressure by the project partners has stalled the plans of the state government to privatise water.
Four key presentations were made at the event. They are: Influencing Policy and Decision Makers: Trade Union Advocacy Strategies by Professor Hosea Mande of the Kaduna State University, Campaign against privatization in Africa: Lessons Learnt, by Comrade Sani Baba of CFSF, as well as Campaign Planning Strategy and Communication and Strategies of building an impactful legislative advocacy campaign, both presented by Philip Jakpor, Executive Director of Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI).
The engagement allowed participants to x-ray challenges to the three key sectors – water. electricity and waste, in the light of privatization and making the following observations:
In the water sector the participants decried the dilapidated state of water schemes in the 36 states of the federation and Abuja, the federal capital territory due to years of mismanagement and diversion of funds by the respective governments. They also frowned at the state of water utilities in Imo State where the meeting was held, describing the state’s water sector as comatose.
They also revealed that Irregular supply of power has resulted to epileptic production of water and periodic shut downs of water facilities across Nigeria, adding that the obsolete water reticulation network is replete across the federation with old or broken pipelines in many communities leading to contamination of water.