Operations of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company were on Wednesday brought to a halt across the Federal Capital Territory and parts of Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger states as the Nigeria Labour Congress intensified its protest against the dismissal of over 900 workers.
The shutdown followed an earlier picketing of the company’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday by NLC members led by its President, Joe Ajaero, who condemned the mass disengagement as unjustifiable.
Checks indicated that the Disco’s head office in Abuja, alongside its facilities in Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger, remained locked, with union members preventing access to the premises as of Wednesday morning.
The labour union said the dispute stemmed from assurances allegedly given by the company’s management about six months ago that only staff who had reached retirement age or were close to retirement would be affected by the exercise.
Ajaero, however, faulted the outcome of the exercise, stating that many of those disengaged were still in active service and far from retirement.
He said, “The understanding was that only those due for retirement would be affected, which was why labour did not oppose it at the time. But what we have seen is completely different.”
According to him, a significant number of the affected workers had spent only a few years in service, with some reportedly employed for as little as two to three years, describing the development as misleading.
The NLC had earlier issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the AEDC management to address the situation or risk a wider industrial action that could disrupt electricity supply in the affected areas.
Ajaero warned that failure to resolve the dispute within the stipulated period could lead to a breakdown in power supply, noting that workers responsible for maintaining the system might withdraw their services.
