Edo Among Four Nigerian States Hit By Blackout As Electricity Workers Shut BEDC Facilities

by Idahosa Moses | Benin

 

• Dispute over welfare, emoluments disrupts power supply

Electricity supply was disrupted across Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti states on Monday as workers under the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) shut down operational facilities of BEDC Electricity Plc over a dispute concerning emoluments and welfare packages.

The industrial action, which began in the early hours of the day, affected operations at the company’s facilities, including its headquarters in Benin City, where union officials reportedly prevented staff from gaining access to the premises.

The shutdown forced some workers to leave their offices early, while efforts were reportedly under way to resolve the dispute through discussions between the company’s management and NUEE leadership.

A senior staff member of BEDC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed surprise at the action, claiming that the company’s management had recently reviewed workers’ emoluments.

“We are surprised at their action. Some of them even harassed some of our staff who were trying to record their activities. The current management recently reviewed their emoluments. I am surprised that they shut down facilities of the company,” the staff member said.

However, the precise issues underlying the union’s action were not immediately established, as calls to the Edo State Chairman of NUEE, Williams Uwumarogie, were not answered as of the time of filing this report.

The Acting State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Bernard Egwakide, confirmed that the labour centre had previously intervened in the dispute.

Egwakide, however, said the NUEE leadership was meeting with BEDC management to find a resolution, adding that the outcome of the discussions would determine whether the NLC would intervene again.

“The leadership of NUEE is in a meeting with the management of the company. Let us see how far they can resolve it; that will determine if we will intervene,” he said.

The disruption raises fresh concerns over the impact of industrial disputes on electricity supply and economic activities across the four states served by BEDC.

As of the time of filing this report, there was no official statement from BEDC or NUEE detailing the terms of the dispute or indicating when normal operations and electricity supply would be restored.