By Chijioke Kingsley
Abuja (Sundiata Post) -The Spokesman for the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JED), Dr. Friday Elijah, has told newsmen that the State Chapter of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), who shut down the Jos headquarters office of the electricity company, refused to allow key staff into the office despite his plea.
“I pleaded with them to allow our strategic staff who handle key positions into the office, but they refused. For fear of being beaten, I told some of my colleagues who were stranded outside the gate to leave the office gate and hide somewhere”, Elijah said.
The Spokesman was reacting to the Monday nationwide picketing of all DisCo offices as directed by the NLC and TUC squeal to the “Band A” tariff hike.
Our correspondent reports that the Plateau State labour union blocked the main gate of the company, leaving the staff of JED stranded outside the main building.
NLC and TUC, had announced that they would shut down offices of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Distribution Companies (DisCos) nationwide as a result of their failure to comply with their demand of total reversal of the electricity tariff hike.
They had also given the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission a seven-day ultimatum to reverse the tariff.
However, the Federal Government said a reversal of the tariff would spell doom for the power sector, urging Nigerians to bear the temporary pains
Amid this, the International Monetary Fund had advised the Federal Government to remove electricity subsidies in other bands to save the economy.
