A new grid-shutdown threat has been made by the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE).
The Federal Government was given two weeks to settle the problem, but according to the electricity workers, that time has passed.
While briefing reporters in Kaduna on Thursday, Comrade Dukat Ayuba, the zonal organizing secretary for NUEE’s North West region, revealed that while negotiations were still ongoing, the national grid would soon shut down.
He claimed that the sector’s so-called privatization was a fraud and that, nine (9) years later, nothing had changed to make its operations better, particularly for power consumers.
“That’s why we fought against privatizing the distribution business because investors lack the capability and knowledge, he continued. We cautioned the administration against doing so as devoted Nigerians. However, the administration was adamant about doing it.
He pointed out that the investors were still using outdated equipment that was 35, 40, and 50 years old. He claimed that one would have expected them to update the outdated equipment when the investors arrived, but nothing had been done.
He expressed regret that the country continued to produce 5,000 megawatts of electricity, noting that this is the same amount that they had been producing before privatization.
The corporation now generates megawatts at greater prices, he continued, causing sufferings in the homes of millions of Nigerians, which is what all Nigerians are currently going through.
The central executive committee member Wisdom Nwachukwu remarked that the federal government now intends to sell the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
He claimed that they were planning to meet with various stakeholders but that they wouldn’t let it happen since they were proud Nigerians who wanted what was best for the nation.
Ado Gaya, the Vice President of NUEE’s North West Region, went on to explain that the 16 months that the electrical employees are demanding represent their due wages, which involved 55,000 workers.
He regretted that many of the workers had passed away, while those who had been laid off were suffering with their families receiving nothing to help them make a life. He further noted that nine years later, the workers have gotten nothing.
