NERC,Discos Offices Picketed by Labour Over Increase in Electricity Tariff
Tight security surrounded the main gate of the distribution company in the capital of Kaduna State on Monday as early as 7 a.m.
Picketing across the offices of the Nigerian energy Regulatory Commission (NERC) and distribution companies on Monday in protest of the increase in energy rates were members of organised labour.
The workers are acting in response to a joint instruction issued at the weekend by the leadership of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for their members to picket these offices in protest of the tariff increase.
“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 FCT,” the unions said in a joint statement signed by Ag General Secretary Chris Uyot of the NLC and Anka Hassan of the TUC.
The coordinated nationwide strike is scheduled for Monday, May 13, 2024. We so order the two labour centres to work together to complete this important task. Counting on your customary cooperation, please accept our best wishes and goodwill.
Leading the labour unions in the demonstration at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) headquarters in Abuja was Joe Ajaero, President of the NLC. The workers demanded an immediate cancellation of the electricity pricing increase.
Tight security surrounded the distribution company’s main gate on Monday as early as 7 a.m., when labour union members stopped it.
Union members on protest asked that the tariff increase be undone and forbade company workers from accessing the building.
Union members in Kwara State barricaded the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company’s gate in Ilorin, the state capital.
Monday morning, the state chairman of the NLC shut the company’s entrance, denying employees access to their workplaces as early as 8 a.m.
Saheed Olayinka, the chairman of the NLC, urged the Federal Government to undo the tariff increase claiming it has hurt the people.
Picketing would go on until the demands of the protesters are fulfilled, he said.
The workers at DisCo waited patiently for further instructions while the union members, who were singing solidarity songs and holding placards with various inscriptions, were positioned around the property.
Comparably, some TUC members closed down the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) head office in Akure, the capital of Ondo State. To oppose the increase in the electricity tariff, they assembled in front of the company’s office.
Additionally, in Benin City, the state capital, officials and members of the NLC picketed the BEDC headquarters located on Akpakpava Road.
Electricity workers are among the unions that are claiming the risks the increase has put them in.
Similar events occurred in Zamfara when organised workers picketed the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) offices, barring the employees from entering the premises.
Comrade Saidu Mudi, the TUC chairman in Zamfara State, urged the Federal Government to immediately revert the tariff to the previous pricing.