ABUJA, Aug 18 (NNN-Xinhua) — An electricity workers union in Nigeria on Wednesday began an indefinite nationwide strike, causing blackouts and worsening power supply in parts of the most populous African country.
The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) said in a statement that it had withdrawn its services at the headquarters of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, calling for payment of outstanding arrears owed to workers, reversal of promotion interviews for acting principal managers, among other long-pending issues.
The strike, followed by a two-week ultimatum by the NUEE, was in line with a directive of the union’s national leadership. Transmission stations were picketed on Wednesday to disrupt electricity supply.
In the statement signed by Joe Ajaero, general secretary of NUEE, the union urged its members across the country to comply with the directive and shut down services from Wednesday as the authorities failed to meet their demands.
Parts of the country began to bear the brunt of power blackouts due to the strike.
According to a report by local daily the Vanguard, the chairman of NUEE’s branch in Abuja said the action will continue until their demands are met by the government and the TCN management.
The Eko Distribution Company and Ikeja Electric Plc, which are in charge of electricity distribution in the nation’s economic hub Lagos, confirmed there was a blackout across the state following the directive given to electricity workers under the aegis of the NUEE, according to the official News Agency of Nigeria.
“Due to the ongoing nationwide picketing of transmission stations by the NUEE, we are currently experiencing disruption of power supply as most stations within our network have been shut down,” the distribution companies said in a joint statement.
The electricity distribution company in the southeastern state of Enugu said power supply had been largely disrupted due to the nationwide strike.
Emeka Ezeh, spokesman for the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, said in a statement that all its feeders are out of supply, which has affected supply to customers in other southeastern states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.
Minister of Power Abubakar Aliyu told reporters in Abuja on Wednesday that the government was working to resolve the crisis, adding that consultations were ongoing among critical stakeholders in the power sector to address the issue and restore supply. — NNN-XINHUA
