Swathes of Nigeria have been thrown into darkness, as electricity workers under the aegis of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), embark on a strike to protest perceived stigmatization of laid-off workers.
Nigeria’s seat of power in Abuja, has also been hauled into darkness as a result of the shut-down.
The General Secretary, NUEE, Joe Ajaero, had in a statement said the picketing and blackout was to protest the directive by the TCN board that all Principal Managers in acting capacity, who are transiting to Acting General Managers, must appear for a promotion interview.
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Ajaero had also said the directive was in contravention of the workers’ conditions of service and career progression paths, and alleged that it was unilaterally done without relevant stakeholders.
Other issues raised include stigmatization of staff from the office of the Head of Service of the Federation from working in other areas in the power sector, and non-payment of December 2019 entitlement of ex-PHCN staff.
The TCN had pleaded with the union not to embark on the strike as some of the issues raised were being addressed. However, the picketing and switching-off of power across Nigeria has been implemented.
In video footage made available to Quest Times, some electricity workers can be seen chanting solidarity slogans as they switch-off power to millions of homes.
At the time of reporting, much of the Southwest, the FCT of Abuja, the Southeast and the North, have been thrown into darkness.
Reports reaching us from the State House Abuja indicate that the power outage has affected the seat of power as well. “We don’t have electricity,” one state house staff disclosed to Quest Times.