The 36 states in Nigeria and the capital city of Abuja have been thrown into darkness on Wednesday as electricity workers embarked on a nationwide strike.
Local media reports had on Tuesday warned that the country’s electricity supply crisis could worsen from Wednesday as the organised labour had directed workers in the power sector to shut down and commence an indefinite strike over pending issues with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)
The national strike, according to the union, is to protest the directive by the TCN Board mandating all PMs in acting capacity going to the Annual General Meeting to appear for promotional interview.
The statement read in part, “You are hereby enjoined to mobilise immediately for a serious picketing of TCN headquarters and stations nationwide over the directive by the TCN Board that all PMs in acting capacity going to AGM must appear for promotion interview.
“This directive is in contravention of our conditions of service and career progression paths, and unilaterally done without the relevant stakeholders.
‘’This action takes effect from Tuesday, August 16, 2022 and total withdrawal of services commences on Wednesday, August 17, 2022, the report by Punch newspaper quoted the union as saying.
Following this directive, some power distribution companies had on Tuesday notified their customers that “the National Union Of Electricity Employees (NUEE) is set to embark on an industrial strike at all power stations controlled by Transmission Company of Nigeria. This may lead to disruption of electricity supply across the nation. Kindly bear with us.”
Speaking on the nationwide strike, Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, said on Wednesday that the Federal Government was holding discussions with the organized labour in order to resolve the various issues which have led electricity workers in the country to embark on the strike.
The Minister told journalists after the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja that the issues in contention centered on employment which is largely under the purview of the Head of Service and not the Ministry of Power.
He explained that the discussions have reached an advanced stage and that was why the Minister of Labour as well as the Minister of State for power were absent at the executive council meeting.
He, however, assured the nation of a quick resolution of the strike action.
GIK/APA