THE Management of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has confirmed the dismissal of hundreds its workers, citing restructuring for enhanced customer efficiency as the reason for the decision. However, sources claim the move is actually linked to the implementation of the new minimum wage.
In a statement issued on Friday, November 7, the AEDC management said the restructuring was in line with its strategic direction to become more agile, innovative and customer centric.
“In line with our corporate transformation strategy, the management of Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc (AEDC) hereby announces a restructuring exercise aimed at delivering improved services to our customers as well as enhanced operational efficiency and excellence.
“As part of the transformation, we have promoted high-performing staff, released retiring employees and those performing below par, and have put in motion the implementation of a robust employee development and customer management plan aimed at driving our customer-centric focus,” the statement read in part.
It added that the AEDC was committed to providing reliable, safe, and sustainable electricity to its customers across its touchpoints, supporting the growth and development of Nigeria’s energy sector.
Meanwhile, some of the workers who spoke with The ICIR said the decision was a result of the implementation of the new minimum wage by the AEDC.
The sources said the company had been paying many of its contract or casual staff N40,000 until it agreed to pay the new minimum wage of N70,000 last month after several appeals from the workers.
President Bola Tinubu signed the new minimum wage into law in July 2024, making it compulsory for all employers to implement.
One of the sources said the decision by the AEDC to sack workers was communicated to them at the company’s monthly meeting with staff on Monday, November 3. At the meeting, about 1,500 workers were said to have been affected by the plan. Sack letters were issued to some of them hours after the meeting.
However, media reports on Friday indicate that 800 were eventually disengaged.
The criteria for the sack, according to workers, include staff performance, educational qualification, and staff integrity. The ICIR reports that staff working in communities with high numbers of estimated billings are most affected.
“They said they are sacking us because we could not meet our targets from the customers. For instance, many people in the community where someone like me is assigned to work do not pay their bills. This is a major criterion for sacking workers,” one of the staff, who pleaded anonymity, said.
The ICIR contacted the AEDC spokesperson in charge of Customer Relations, Kenechukwu Ofili, on the phone to confirm the claim that new minimum wage payment led to the mass sack.
Ofili declined to speak on the matter. She was silent for several seconds when the question was pushed to her. She then ended the call abruptly and didn’t pick subsequent calls to the line from the reporter.
Since the assumption of ownership of AEDC by Transcorp Power in 2023, there has been instability in top management appointments, culminating in managing directors, namely: Christopher Ezeafulukwe, who assumed office as Managing Director/CEO on September 2, 2023, and Chijioke Okwuokeny, the acting Managing Director since July 21, 2024.
Another worker who spoke with The ICIR on the condition of anonymity said every staff member was apprehensive over the continuous disengagement with uncertainty about who receives the next sack letter.
“I have a young family, and I have been praying to God that I will not be affected,” the worker said.
The latest sack, which cut across levels four to 10, including casual workers, was also learnt to be the outcome of protracted negotiations between AEDC management, led by its current Managing Director, Chijioke Okwuokenye, and the in-house two staff unions: National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC).
With most staff were already served with letters of disengagement as of Thursday, it remains uncertain who will be next affected, as palpable fear pervades the AEDC premises in all its franchise areas currently in operation.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.