Electricity workers in Nigeria’s industrial and commercial hub in Lagos and Ogun zonal council, on Monday expressed their readiness to resume the suspended strike upon the prompt of the union’s directives.
The move came upon mutterings of the failure of the Federal Government to resolve the issues that prompted the strike that was called off after one day recently.
Even more, there have been reports of government reportedly using anti-graft agencies to intimidate some of the leaders of the unions.
In an unhidden threat to resume the suspended strike, the electricity workers’ leaders while speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Monday warned that “any threat on the leadership of the union is a threat to workers in the sector and Nigerian workers in general. We are on standby.”
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In a joint statement by Temple Iworima and Akeem Ladoja, Assistant General Secretary, Lagos/Ogun) and Vice President (LagosOgun) respectively, read by Iworima, the workers said: “It is an undeniable truth that the power sector privatization has not added value to the lives of the ordinary Nigerians.
‘’The entire exercise which could be described as a charade, has not brought any meaningful impact/improvement of the sector. Rather, it has led the nation to a huge set back.
“The infrastructural development by the new business owners in the power sector has almost gone comatose, while the socio-economic status of the average worker in the sector has continued to decline amid prevailing harsh economic conditions.
‘’The same equipment inherited pre-privatization have remained what drives the sector as there are no visible attempt by the generation companies (GenCos) and distribution companies (DisCos) to upgrade and expand their capacities/networks,” the electricity workers said in their expression of interest to resume the strike action that was suspended two weeks ago.
