Blackout in Abuja as electricity workers embark on strike

Most parts of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been thrown into darkness following the industrial action embarked upon by the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE).

In a statement, the General Manager, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Bode Fadipe, said that power supply to some of these areas of operation, especially those on the 11kV network, would be affected.

“We would like to assure all our customers that all hands are on deck to resolve the issues that prompted this action.

“We would also like to apologise to our customers for the inconvenience and disruption” he said.

Recently, workers in the nation’s power sector, under the auspices of NUEE, served the Federal Government a notice of industrial unrest over planned sale of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, (TCN).

Meanwhile, Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) had earlier rejected the plan to sell the TCN.

NLC, through its President, Ayuba Wabba, called on the National Assembly and other well-meaning Nigerians to join forces with labour and stop any attempt to sell TCN to private individuals to the detriment of the Nigerians.

NUEE, in a statement by its General Secretary, Joe Ajaero, argued that “leaving the nation’s full power architecture in the hands of private business owners, who lack the expertise to own and run critical economic assets, poses serious security risk to the nation, as we will be driven by the whims and caprices of the ‘harvestors’” he said

Apparently reacting to AEDC’s statement, TCN has said that it has available bulk power for delivery to the distribution load centres of the AEDC to offtake for its customers.

“However, power evacuation from injection substations across AEDC franchise area has been disrupted following a shutdown of the AEDC facilities by its in-house workers’ union.

“The areas under AEDC franchise include Abuja, Nasarawa, Kogi, parts of Edo, Niger and Kaduna States.

“TCN regrets this disruption and assures Nigerians that normal bulk power delivery to AEDC will be restored as soon as the injection substations are opened for onward electricity supply to consumers” the statement, noted.