Nigeria narrowly escaped a nationwide blackout as electricity workers suspended their planned strike after reaching an agreement with the federal government late Thursday night. The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) had threatened to shut down operations across the power sector over unresolved disputes with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), including non-implementation of the national minimum wage and other operational grievances.
Following marathon negotiations in Abuja with representatives of the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and officials from the Ministry of Labour, the unions agreed to call off the strike. The talks ended with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that brought all parties to the table, including TCN and the National Independent System Operator (NISO), who represented the federal government.
The MoU outlined several key resolutions. The unions agreed to review the report of a standing committee between October 6 and 7, with a timeline for implementation beginning this month. TCN and NISO are to jointly assess the financial implications of the committee’s recommendations and submit an implementation plan to the Minister of Power and the unions. The agreement also mandated the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to fast-track tariff reviews for TCN and NISO, a move expected to clear obstacles delaying the reforms.
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One of the most significant clauses in the MoU assured workers that no employee would face victimisation for participating in the threatened industrial action. This provision, union leaders stressed, was central to their decision to suspend the strike.
“The agreements reached today give us confidence that our long-standing issues will finally be addressed. In good faith, we are suspending the strike to give room for implementation,” the unions declared.
The suspension of the planned strike comes as a relief to millions of Nigerians who had braced for possible power disruptions nationwide. Energy analysts believe that if faithfully implemented, the resolutions could help stabilise labour relations in the power sector and ease some of the structural bottlenecks hindering electricity supply across the country.
