The country is currently experiencing widespread blackouts due to the shutdown of the national grid by members of the Labour Unions.
According to Channels Television, the national grid system dropped to zero megawatts on Monday after power supply was completely disrupted to all eleven electricity distribution companies.
Ndidi Mbah, General Manager of Public Affairs for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), confirmed that the nationwide blackout occurred because staff of the TCN, under the National Union of Electricity Workers (NUEE), shut down all power substations across the country at approximately 2:19 AM on Monday. This action caused the national grid system to fall to zero megawatts.
The blackout follows a four-hour meeting on Sunday evening in Abuja between Labour Union leaders and the National Assembly leadership. Despite the meeting, Labour Union leaders, including Festus Osifo, President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and Joe Ajaero, President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), declared that the planned nationwide industrial action would proceed as scheduled on Monday.
They stated that they would take the plea from the National Assembly leadership to call off the strike to their various union bodies but could not halt the strike themselves.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas also participated in the meeting, which aimed to persuade the unions to cancel their planned strike for a new minimum wage.
The Organised Labour’s decision came after negotiations between the Federal Government and the unions stalled over demands for a new national minimum wage and the reversal of a recent hike in electricity tariffs.
The unions argued that the current minimum wage of ₦30,000 is insufficient for the average Nigerian worker’s needs, especially since not all governors are paying this wage.
The current minimum wage award expired in April 2024, five years after the Minimum Wage Act of 2019 was signed by former President Muhammadu Buhari. The Act mandates that the minimum wage be reviewed every five years to address contemporary economic conditions.
Regarding efforts to restore power, Mbah stated that at around 3:23 AM, TCN began attempting to recover the grid by using the Shiroro substation to supply electricity to the Katampe Transmission Substation.
However, Mbah noted that the Labour Union continues to obstruct grid recovery nationwide. TCN will persist in its efforts to stabilize the grid and restore normal bulk electricity transmission to distribution centers across the country.
