AS THE KADUNA ELECTRIC WORKERS GO ON STRIKE, FOUR NORTHERN STATES ARE PLUNGED INTO DARKNESS.

Babatunji Wusu –

As the Kaduna Electric Workers go on strike, four northern states are plunged into darkness.

The workers, who are members of the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees, began an indefinite walkout on Tuesday in protest of what they saw as the management of the company treating them unfairly.

DisCo’s refusal to pay six years’ worth of unpaid pensions, the company’s failure to pay the death benefits of its deceased employees, the unfair termination of seven Zaria-based employees, and an alleged plan to fire over a thousand employees were among the issues that reportedly upset the workers.

However, the Kaduna Disco management, in a statement released by Head of Corporate Communication Abdulazeez Abdullahi, denounced the strike, calling it “completely unjustified.”

Abdulazeez said, “For the union to choose this path at the very start of the holy month of Ramadan and inflict more discomfort on hapless Nigerians by embarking on an ill-advised strike and forcing staff from carrying out their legitimate duties says a lot about its motive.”

According to Abdulazeez, the union’s request for the repayment of unpaid pension arrears “is part of the historic debts accumulated under two previous management.”

“One wonders why the union failed to prioritise the payments then until now. This is a clear indication that the union has other motives yet unknown to us,” he added.