Workers under the aegis of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) on Wednesday evening called off their few-hour nationwide strike.
The union took this decision after an emergency meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.
The minister’s spokesman Olajide Oshundun, confirmed that Ngige intervened in the industrial action.
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Members of the union across the country had earlier shut down their offices leading to power outage across the country.
The electricity workers under NUEE and Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEC) after the meeting agreed to suspend the industrial action.
The Secretary-General of NUEE, Joe Ajaero while addressing newsmen after the meeting said they had been asked to suspend the strike action.
Ajaero expressed hope that the government would act in good faith on the issues in dispute which have lingered for years.
He further stated that they would suspend the strike hoping the federal government would act on its demands.
The President of SSAEC, Chika Ben, on his part, said the issues would be resolved.
Ngige while speaking on the outcome of the meeting said, they agreed to form acommittee to look into the grievances of the electricity workers and report back in two weeks.
According to him, the members of the bipartite committee include the Minister of State for Power, Jeddy Agba (Chairman), Permanent Secretary, Office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Permanent Secretary, General Services, Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, representative of BPE and two representatives from NUEE and SSAEC.
In attendance at the meeting were the Minister of State, Power, Prince Jeddy Agba, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Ms Daju Kachollom, Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz and the Chairman of TCN Board, Imamuddeen Talba.
Also represented were the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), the Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) and the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation.
How the strike began
Nigeria Wednesday was thrown into darkness as electricity workers in the country commenced a strike to push the federal government to respond to their demands.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in a statement by its spokesperson, Ndidi Mbah confirmed that the electricity workers under the aegis of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) switched off several 330kV transmission lines and 33kV feeder lines on Wednesday.
The union members switched off major power substations across the country.
The TCN statement reads: “The incident occurred at 15:01Hrs, today after several 330kV transmission lines and 33kV feeder-lines across the power system network had been switched off by the union members, resulting in generation-load imbalance and multiple voltage escalations at critical stations and substations.”
“Regrettably, this is coming weeks after we had emerged from a hectic grid management regime, precipitated by the paucity of generation, which we grappled with for a couple of months.”
The TCN, however, added that it is already negotiating with the affected union members on how to resolve the situation.
Why Electricity Workers embarked On Strike
Straightnews understands electricity workers under the aegis of NUEE are protesting the non-payment of outstanding arrears owed to former workers of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), the suspension of conditions of service and career path for workers, among others.
Earlier, the Ibadan Electricity of Nigeria (IBEDC), in a statement on Wednesday to its customers, had warned about the pending blackout.
