AS the blackout in Kaduna and neighbouring states entered day four today, Thursday, February, 6, a group under the aegis of Concerned Residents of Kaduna have petitioned Governor Uba Sani to prevail on Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KADECO) to address the crisis.
The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) started an indefinite strike on Monday, February 3, to protest KADECO’s disengagement of 900 of its staff.
The protesters grievances also include non-payment of outstanding pensions to retirees, inadequate provision of necessary work tools, lack of promotions and non-implementation of the 2024 national minimum wage by KADECO.
The spokesperson of KADECO, Abdulhazeez Abdullahi, in a statement on Tuesday, February 4, confirmed the dismissal of 450 staff across four states of KADECO’s franchise region, made up of Kaduna, Kebbi, Zamfara and Sokoto.
He assured customers that the company was working to resolve the dispute with the labour union to restore electricity supply as soon as possible.
Despite this assurance, the blackout has continued, causing widespread frustration among residents, with many households and businesses suffering significant losses.
In a petition released to journalists on Thursday, the petitioners urged Kaduna State Governor to ensure the distribution company restore electricity in the state.
“Your Excellency, while we acknowledge the challenges faced by the electricity distribution company, it is unfair that ordinary citizens, who diligently pay their electricity bills, continue to suffer due to poor power supply. Many hardworking individuals and small businesses depend on electricity to earn a living, and prolonged outages are crippling their means of survival” part of the petition reads.
According to reports, residents in the affected states are facing water crisis as women, children and other residents struggled to get water from the few boreholes and other outlets where prices have skyrocketed.
The petitioners further urged the government to prevail on KADECO to address the concerns of the aggrieved staff.
“Furthermore, we are deeply concerned about the recent developments within the power sector, particularly the dismissal of staff, which should not translate to punishing innocent consumers. We implore you to urgently call Kaduna Electric to order and ensure that electricity is fairly and adequately distributed to all.”
Meanwhile, the governor has directed his deputy, Hadiza Balarabe, to immediately interface with KADECO’s management and the striking workers in order to end the industrial action.
The ICIR reports that several states including those under KADECO franchise witnessed two-week power outage in October 2024 when bandits allegedly destroyed power infrastructure in the North.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.