December 07, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the sack of the management of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) over the strike by the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) that grounded activities of the company.
A statement by Ofem Uket, a media aide to the Minister of State, Power, Goddy Jedy-Agba, announced that a new interim governing board has been appointed to oversee the day-to-day operations of the electricity distribution company.
Although the decision was expected long before now, the dissolution of the board was accelerated by Monday’s industrial action embarked upon by the aggrieved staff of the company over the non-payment of arrears of pensions, allowances, salaries and promotion.
The statement indicated that the sack was conveyed by the presidency to the Federal Ministry of Power, stressing that the new development takes immediate effect.
The Minister of Power, Aliyu Abubakar, and the Minister of State for Power, Jedy Agba, had earlier intervened through dialogue with the Ministry of Labour, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), and the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) to resolve and call off the 14-hour strike.
The AEDC’s franchise areas include the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kogi, Nasarawa, Kaduna and parts of Edo states.
The strike on Monday left the affected areas in total blackout between 7 am and 8 pm.
“The presidential directive, as conveyed, has also directed the BPE to set up a new management team for the AEDC,” the statement revealed.
Furthermore, the release noted that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had earlier been jointly signed by Jedy-Agba; the Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Sanusi Garba; the Director General, BPE, Alex Okoh, as well as Joe Ajaero on behalf of the union, for the suspension of the strike.
“And they have been given 21 days within which the outstanding emoluments and entitlements of staff will be paid,” the statement noted.
The press release noted thatbthe suspension of the management team will subsist until further notice.
“At the end of the expansive consultation between the leadership of NUEE and relevant government institutions in the power sector over the industrial action government intervened with the firm arrangement to ensure the payment of the outstanding entitlements of AEDC staff within 21 days counting from the date of the signing of the MoU.
“And based on the foregoing, the industrial action is hereby suspended,” a statement conveying the suspension of the strike had noted.
The strike happened despite a federal government statement pleading with the union not to embark on strike and subtle threats for them to follow due process in embarking on the industrial action.
Jedy-Agba urged members of the labour union to follow due process in airing their grievances, stressing that going contrary to established rules will run against extant laws which may have unintended consequences.
The minister urged the union members to be “cautious and responsible to avoid endangering the fragile state of our electricity infrastructure which the present government is working hard to strengthen”.
About the Author
