Kaduna in total blackout as workers begin strike over retrenchment

Kaduna State on Sunday was thrown into total blackout ahead of the five-day warning strike directed by the Nigeria Labour Congress to commence from midnight of Sunday in the state.

The total blackout followed a warning by the National Union of Electricity Employees, an affiliate of the NLC, directing its workers to join the strike action in Kaduna beginning on Midnight Sunday.

But the state government said it won’t bow to the intimidation of the NLC over its planned ‘rightsizing’ of the state workforce.

While speaking at a press conference in Kaduna on Saturday, the Commissioner of Local Government Affairs, Malam Jafaru Sani, said it uncovered a plot by the NLC to recruit hoodlums from other states of the federation to cause mayhem under the pretext of embarking on strike.

Sani, therefore, reminded the unionists that the ban on public procession is still in force, adding that it had notified security agencies about the planned strike of the NLC and necessary steps would be taken to thwart the violent intent of the organisers.

However, a statement by the management of Kaduna Electric on Sunday, said service interruption is a result of the industrial action embarked upon by the NLC.

The statement released by Head, Corporate Communication of Kaduna Electric, Abdulazeez Abdullahi, was titled, ‘power failure due to NLC’s industrial action.’

It reads: “The Management of Kaduna Electric regrets to inform its customers in Kaduna State that the service interruption currently being experienced in the State is as a result of the industrial action embarked upon by the Nigerian Labour Congress.

“In compliance with the NLC directive, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, has knocked off all our 33KV lines in Kaduna State.

“Consequently, we are appealing to all communities, security agencies and vigilante groups to be vigilant so that men of underworld will not cash in on the situation to vandalise power supply installations. Any suspicious movement around distribution sub-stations (transformers) should be reported to the relevant security agency.

“We have the collective responsibility to protect these critical national assets in our neighborhood.

“We once again appeal to both parties in the dispute to strive at an amicable resolution for normalcy to return.”

Todayng