Blackout Looms in Abuja, Kogi, Niger, Nasarawa as Electricity Workers Threaten Strike

A major electricity blackout may soon hit Nigeria’s capital city, Abuja, and three neighboring states—Kogi, Nasarawa, and Niger—as workers of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) have issued a fresh strike notice.

The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) announced their intention to resume an earlier suspended strike over unresolved labour disputes with AEDC management.

In letters addressed to the AEDC Managing Director, signed by Opaluwa Eleojo Simeon of NUEE and Rosemary Odeh of SSAEAC, the unions accused AEDC of failing to honor a November 27, 2024 agreement that led to the suspension of a previous strike.

Key grievances include:

• Non-remittance of pension deductions for 16 months

• Failure to implement the national minimum wage

• Stagnation of staff promotion for over a decade

• Non-confirmation of acting staff and refusal to convert ad-hoc workers

• Collapse of healthcare services due to unpaid hospital bills

• Non-remittance of PAYE deductions for 10 months

• Undue interference by the AEDC Board in daily operations

• Non-payment of union dues, third-party deductions, and the 2024 productivity bonus

The unions emphasized that despite AEDC workers generating ₦94 billion in revenue in 90 days, these longstanding issues remain unaddressed.

“We have significantly lost a huge number of members to death owing to pressure and precarious work conditions,” the letter stated.

The unions have warned that strike action could commence without further notice following receipt of the letter, and have directed their local councils to begin full mobilization across all AEDC franchise areas.

“The struggle shall be sustained until victory is achieved, as a people united can never be defeated,” the unions declared.