Labour activists cut off power supply nationwide, beat up dissidents
By Ajala Motunrayo
Electricity workers have shut down power supply from the national grid, due to a strike action called on Monday.
TheCornet reports that organised labour had rejected a proposed ₦60,000 minimum wage, a reason for which it declared a nationwide strike.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and its counterpart the Trade Union Congress (TUC) are the two labour centres spearheading the action.
On the power situation, Ndidi Mbah, general manager, public affairs, of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), said the protesting workers shut supply “at about 2.19 a.m. this morning, June 3, 2024.”
“At about 1:15am this morning, the Benin Transmission Operator under the Independent System Operations unit of TCN reported that all operators were driven away from the control room and that staff that resisted were beaten while some were wounded in the course of forcing them out of the control room, and without any form of control or supervision, the Benin Area Control Centre was brought to zero.”
“Other transmission substations that were shut down by the Labour Union include the Ganmo, Benin, Ayede, Olorunsogo, Akangba, and Osogbo Transmission Substations. Some transmission lines were equally opened due to the ongoing activities of the labour union.
“On the power generating side, power generating units from different generating stations were forced to shut down some units of their generating plants; the Jebba Generating Station was forced to shut down one of its generating units, while three others in the same substation subsequently shut down at very high frequency.
“The sudden forced load cuts led to high frequency and system instability, which eventually shut down the national grid at 2:19 a.m.
“At about 3.23am, however, TCN commenced grid recovery, using the Shiroro Substation to attempt to feed the transmission lines supplying bulk electricity to the Katampe Transmission Substation. The situation is such that the labour union is still obstructing grid recovery nationwide.”
