NUEE strike: Blackout paralyses govt offices, businesses in Edo

Government offices, businesses, and commercial centres across Edo State were on Wednesday hit by a prolonged blackout as the industrial action by electricity workers under the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) against BEDC Electricity Plc entered its third day.

The strike, which began in the early hours of Monday, has disrupted electricity supply across the state following the shutdown of BEDC’s operational facilities by the workers, forcing residents, public institutions, and businesses to seek alternative sources of power.

At the Edo State Secretariat complex along Sapele Road, Benin, the state capital, the impact of the blackout was evident, with generators humming across several floors of government offices as workers struggled to carry out their duties amid the disruption.

When our correspondent visited the complex, many civil servants were seen operating from offices on the ground floor, while some workers found it difficult to access offices on upper floors because the lifts were not functioning due to the power outage.

Generators were deployed to power selected offices, while a generating plant near the Deputy Governor’s office at Government House was also running to sustain activities in the affected area.

The disruption extended beyond government establishments, with private offices and commercial centres in the city also affected.

Some residents and business operators were reportedly exploring solar energy as an alternative to the unstable public electricity supply.

The industrial dispute has also exposed deep disagreements between BEDC management and the union over workers’ welfare, salary harmonisation, salary increments, and outstanding long-service awards.

A management staff member of BEDC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the company had suffered losses estimated at not less than N2 billion since the strike began, while efforts to persuade the workers to return to their duties had yet to produce a breakthrough.

The source said several meetings involving the management, union representatives, and security agencies, including the Department of State Services (DSS), had failed to resolve the dispute, adding that a meeting held late on Tuesday night also ended without an agreement.

However, the union leadership disputed suggestions that an agreement had been reached to end the industrial action, insisting that the workers’ grievances remained unresolved.

The State Chairman of NUEE, Uwumarogie Owenaze William, while speaking to newsmen in Benin, accused the management of misrepresenting the outcome of previous engagements, alleging that workers had not enjoyed a salary increase since 2013.

He also alleged that BEDC still owed workers five years of outstanding long-service award arrears, despite earlier assurances that the payments would be made in January this year.

According to him, the union had mounted pressure on the management before some long-service awards were eventually paid, but the outstanding arrears remained unresolved.

The union chairman further alleged that workers had not benefited from any significant improvement in their conditions of service since 2022, a situation he said had heightened dissatisfaction among employees.

Efforts by our correspondent to obtain further clarification from the union’s Edo State leadership were unsuccessful, as calls to the chairman, Williams Uwumarogie, were not answered.

The Edo State Government has, however, expressed concern over the prolonged dispute, with the Commissioner for Energy, Paul Usenbo, saying the administration was working to facilitate a resolution between the electricity company and its employees.

Usenbo confirmed he participated in meetings convened to address the crisis, including an intervention by the DSS, adding that the government had engaged both the management and the union in a bid to resolve their differences.

“The state is committed to ensuring that there is a resolution in respect of this matter. I have been on top of it. I was with the management and the union yesterday, and we have made efforts to ensure that management resolves the issues,” he said.

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The commissioner identified salary harmonisation and salary increments as the two major issues at the centre of the dispute, expressing hope that further discussions would lead to a breakthrough.

He disclosed that another meeting was scheduled to hold in Abuja on Wednesday under the auspices of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), with the Edo State Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, Godwin Esheshie, travelling to participate in the engagement.

The strike had, as of Wednesday, continued to disrupt economic and administrative activities across the state, with the prospect of a quick resolution depending on the outcome of negotiations between the management and the union.

The dispute has renewed concerns over the vulnerability of businesses, public institutions, and households to prolonged electricity disruptions, particularly in areas where alternative power sources remain costly or inaccessible.