Over 1.2 million people hit by total blackout in Kaduna as electricity workers embark on indefinite strike

Kaduna State of Nigeria

By Emmanuel Akyereko

Over 1.2 million people living in Nigeria’s Kaduna have expressed their frustration over the total blackout that has hit the state after workers of the Kaduna State Electricity Distribution Company embarked on an indefinite strike action.

All staff members of the company laid down their tools on Sunday midnight over disagreement with the management of the company as well as poor working conditions.

According to sources in Nigeria, the workers are unhappy about plans hatched by the management of the KEDC to sack over 900 workers.

The protest from the workers is not only centered on the plans to lay off the workers. The workers, who are under the umbrella body of the National Union of Electricity Employees, are also protesting the non-payment of outstanding pension to retirees, inadequate provision of necessary work tools, lack of promotions for deserving employees, and non-implementation of the 2024 National Minimum Wage.

Small-scale businesses and other essential services in the state have started feeling the effects of the strike action as workers shackled activities of the company as the blocked entrance to the corporate office of the company, preventing workers and customers from accessing the company.