Nigeria: NUEE Strike Action Was A Sabotage-Adetayo Claims

The Convener and Executive Director of PowerUp Nigeria, an electric power consumer rights and power sector policy advocacy organisation, has charged Nigerians to stand up against the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) for plunging the country into darkness last Wednesday.

Adetayo Adegbemle, who condemned the action of the Union, argued that the Union’s action “is simply a sabotage of the Nigerian economy.”

He could not fathom why few people continue to hold Africa’s most populous nation to ransom, without consequences.

“This is probably the only country in the world where such impunity is allowed to pass, without punishment,’’ he fumed in a piece he wrote and copied to energynewsafrica.com.

Although there is no data to show how much the nation lost due to the 10hrs nationwide blackout on Wednesday occasioned by the Union’s strike action, Adetayo noted that a newspaper report puts the loss for those circa 10hrs at N2.3 billion.

Adetayo expressed doubt that the country would be able to quantify the loss as a result of the deliberate action by the Union.

“We will never know how much the nation has lost. Again, no retribution for the sabotage and unnecessary flexing”, he argued.

Nigeria was plunged into darkness by the staff Transmission Company of Nigeria under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) after they shut down all substations in protest of unresolved grievances.

The Union kicked against the decision of the TCN Board asking all Principal Managers to be interviewed before promotion to Assistant Managers.

They were also not happy about a circular from the Head of Service allegedly “stigmatizing” former NEPA staff who were trying to work in other areas of the power sector, and were also angry about the non-payment of December 2019 ‘entitlement’ of ex-PHCN staff.

Following their threat of a strike in a statement issued by the General Secretary of NUEE, Joe Ajaero, Mr Adetayo noted that the Managing Director of TCN responded immediately by calling off the promotion interviews.

Interestingly, the Minister for State for Power, Jeddy Agba, also issued a letter asking the Union to give them two weeks for frank discussion and resolution.

Sadly, the Union never heeded the Minister’s appeal and instead, threw the whole country into blackout, crippling businesses and households.

After meeting with Chris Ngige, the Minister for Labour, and some Federal Government, the Union agreed to call off the strike for two weeks to enable the parties to discuss and resolve their grievances.

Mr Adetayo believes the Union just wanted to sabotage the country, saying if not why would they reject the two weeks request by the Minister for State for Power and accepted the same after plunging the country into darkness?

He said, “The action of the union calls into question the Power Sector Reform model that we have opted to implement in Nigeria and the rationality of continuing with a single grid/power market.

“This unnecessary flexing of few people in the name of Union further strengthens the call to break down the grid. We have examples of Canada, Brazil, Mexico, India and the USA to follow.

“The Regulators, only in June, announced a contract-based evacuation of power generated by the generating company, and while we are waiting for the gas suppliers to get us to a regular 5000MW, the Union strikes. What, then, is the essence of the contract? he quizzed.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com