In compliance with the notice of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), to picket the office of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the premises of power distribution companies (DisCos) on Monday, May 13, 2024, over the hike in electricity tariff; members of the two unions have begun to occupy the targeted offices nationwide.
In Kaduna, organised labour, under the leadership of NLC and TUC, has picketed the headquarters of the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC) over the recent hike electricity tariff for customers on Band ‘A’ categorisation.
The labour members, led by Kaduna NLC and TUC chairmen, Comrade Ayuba Magaji Suleiman and Comrade Alhassan Danfulani, respectively, called for immediate reversal of the tariff, as they kicked against alleged segregation by the electricity sector through class differentiation in supply.
Similarly, the two labour unions have picketed the office of the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED) on Ahmadu Way in the metropolis, Plateau State.
The sealing off of the office was carried out by officials of the Plateau chapter of NLC and TUC, in compliance with the directive of the organised labour over the hike in electricity tariff.
The NLC and TUC had said they would picket the office of the NERC and premises of the DisCos nationwide on May 13 over the hike in electricity tariff.
This was contained in a joint statement to members, signed by NLC’s acting General Secretary, Chris Uyot, and his TUC counterpart, Anka Hassan, accordingly.
The statement reads: “We write to inform you of the picketing action scheduled to take place in the offices of the NERC and Electricity Distribution companies (DisCos) in all states, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“The action will jointly take place on Monday, May 13, 2024, nationwide simultaneously. Therefore, the two labour centres are directed to work together to carry out this important action.
“While counting on your usual cooperation, kindly accept the assurances of our goodwill and highest regards.”
In Kaduna, as first reported by The Nation, the labour leaders also asked the Federal Government to reverse the privatisation of the distribution sub-sector of the electricity industry.
They argued that the privatised distribution sub-sector has done nothing but cheated Nigerians and making profit at the detriment of underserved citizens.
In Jos, it was observed that workers of the electricity company were locked out by an enforcement team as early as 6:30am.
Confirming the action to The Nation, Jos Disco spokesman, Dr. Friday Elijah said: ”The office of JED has been picketed. We were locked out, when we came to the office. It has been sealed, nobody is allowed to entered, even myself (the spokesman) and the chief security officer are also outside.
“All of us came this morning for work, we were locked out. The office has been picketed and sealed.”
The chairman of Plateau chapter of NLC, Comrade Eugene Manji, confirmed that the place (JED office) had been occupied and sealed by the union members “in compliance with the directive of our national headquarters.”
