Nigerians hit by power outage as workers shut down transmission stations

 

Electricity workers on Wednesday shut down major power stations due to the ongoing nationwide strike.

 

On Tuesday, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) directed its members to go on strike over “contravention of workers’ conditions and default on the payment of entitlement by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)”.

 

TCN, however, appealed to the workers to suspend the proposed strike, assuring that steps had been taken to resolve the issues.

 

Goddy Jedy-Agba, minister of state for power, urged the union to give the government two weeks to address the issues raised and come up with proposals for an acceptable resolution.

 

In a trending video, the workers were seen shutting down power stations in Abuja as they chant solidarity song.

TRENDING VIDEO: Electricity workers shut down Abuja TCN station over strike pic.twitter.com/terNU3YEtU

— TheCable (@thecableng) August 17, 2022

The electricity union also shut down the Kaduna regional headquarters of the TCN in line with the directive of the union’s national leadership.

 

The regional station covers four states in the north-west, including Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.

 

Reacting to the development, Ikeja Electric said it is currently experiencing disruption of power supply due to the strike.

 

 “Dear Esteemed Customer, Due to the ongoing nationwide picketing of Transmission Stations by the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), we are currently experiencing disruption of power supply as most stations within our network have been shut down,” Ikeja Disco said in a public notice.

 

“Kindly bear with us as we await amicable resolution by the relevant stakeholders. Thank you for your usual understanding and cooperation.” 

National Union Of Electricity Employees (NUEE) is set to embark on an industrial strike at all power stations controlled by Transmission Company. #EKEDC #EkoDisco #EkoElectricity #EmpoweringQualityLives pic.twitter.com/daKxwSbDkr

— Eko Electricity Distribution Company (@EKEDP) August 16, 2022

Chris Ngige, minister of labour and productivity, has invited the electricity workers, who have shut down their services nationwide, for an urgent meeting in Abuja.

 

The meeting will hold at 4 pm today.