A nationwide blackout is imminent as electricity workers, under the aegis of National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), have vowed to down tools if the demand by organised labour against plans to sell the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is not complied with.

The union vowed to embark on the suspended nationwide protest if government continues with the plan of selling the TCN. They also appealed to the National Assembly and Nigerians to resist the push for the sale of TCN which they say, will leave the nation with regrets.

They said the memo serves as notice to Nigerians that the union will resume its suspended industrial action for the non-implementation of agreements reached in the meetings brokered by the leadership of the House of Representatives and Ministry of Labour.”

The National Union of Electricity Employees of Nigeria (NUEE) General Secretary, Comrade Joe Ajaero said the union wondered why government is still bent on selling off TCN when the generation and distribution components of the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) have failed to yield expected turnaround of power sector after eight years of privatisation. 

“Almost eight years after the privatization of the power sector, there has not been any visible improvement in terms of power supply, expansion or investments by the new owners of the DisCos and GenCos.

‘’In the sector’s performance chain today, the Transmission network with a wheeling capacity of 8,000MW has been strengthened to comfortably wheel out power generated by the generation companies whose average operational generation output is far below the total installed generation capacity. Nigerians have had to grapple with darkness as the DisCos reject energy wheeled to them by Transmission Company of Nigeria," he said.