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Economic and official activities have been disrupted across Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti states following three days of widespread electricity blackout caused by an indefinite strike by workers of BEDC Electricity Plc, forcing businesses, government offices and households to depend increasingly on generators and solar power.
The blackout, which began on Monday, has left electricity consumers across the four states facing uncertainty over when normal supply will be restored, as members of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) have rejected repeated appeals to resume work despite interventions by government officials and security agencies.
In Benin, the Edo State capital, activities at several government offices were reportedly reduced yesterday, while generators were deployed to sustain essential operations. Private businesses also struggled with the additional cost of alternative electricity, as residents turned to solar power and other sources to meet their needs.
With the industrial action entering its third day, BEDC management claimed the company had lost at least N2 billion, while a human rights organisation, Talakawa Parliament, threatened mass protests if electricity was not restored within 72 hours.
The organisation also called on Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, to facilitate the return of Ossiomo Power Company as an alternative electricity supplier, arguing that residents and businesses should not remain vulnerable to prolonged outages arising from industrial disputes.
The strike, which commenced in the early hours of Monday, followed unresolved demands by NUEE members for salary harmonisation and increases in remuneration.
Despite several meetings involving BEDC management, union representatives and security agencies, including the Department of State Services (DSS), efforts to resolve the dispute have failed to produce an agreement.
A management official of BEDC expressed frustration over the workers’ refusal to resume duty, saying even meetings convened by security agencies had failed to break the deadlock.
“All the meetings that have been called have failed. The workers insisted that they would not go back to work. The security agencies, including the Department of State Services (DSS), have called several meetings, including late Tuesday night, that did not yield results,” the official said.
The Edo State Chairman of NUEE, Williams Uwumarogie, could not be reached for comments despite repeated telephone calls.
As the blackout continued, the Edo State Government intensified efforts to broker an agreement between BEDC management and the striking workers, with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) expected to intervene at a meeting in Abuja.
Commissioner for Energy, Paul Usenbo, confirmed that the government had participated in negotiations involving the company’s management and union representatives, including a meeting convened by the DSS.
“The state is committed to ensuring that there is a resolution in respect of this matter. I have been on top of it. I was in the management and the union meeting yesterday. We have put in efforts to try and ensure that management resolves their issue,” he said.
Usenbo identified salary harmonisation and increases in workers’ remuneration as the two major issues preventing an agreement.
“The two basic issues that have been very paramount in this discussion have been the harmonisation of salaries and increment,” he said.
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He disclosed that another meeting had been scheduled in Abuja under the auspices of the NLC, with the state government participating in efforts to break the deadlock.
“As I speak to you, there is going to be a meeting held today this afternoon in Abuja, championed by the Nigerian Labour Congress, and the Commissioner of Labour is en route for that mission as we speak,” Usenbo said.
The state Commissioner for Labour and Productivity, Godwin Esheshie, was reportedly travelling to Abuja to participate in the discussions with the NLC leadership.
Meanwhile, Talakawa Parliament condemned the prolonged blackout and gave BEDC management 72 hours to resolve the industrial dispute and restore electricity, warning that failure to do so would trigger mass peaceful protests.
In a statement endorsed by its Spiritual Leader, Kola Edokpayi, the Benin-based organisation blamed BEDC for the disruption, arguing that the company’s inability to resolve its differences with workers had subjected residents and businesses to avoidable hardship.
The group urged Okpebholo to intervene by engaging Ossiomo Power Company to resume electricity supply in the state.
It recalled that Ossiomo had previously provided round-the-clock electricity to its customers before its operations were disrupted.
Talakawa Parliament alleged that the company’s facility at Ologbo in Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area was forcibly shut down by non-state actors, some of whom it claimed had boasted of enjoying government backing.
The allegations could not be independently verified.
The organisation insisted that the state government should urgently explore alternative electricity supply arrangements rather than leave residents and businesses entirely dependent on BEDC.
It called on the government to “discuss with Ossiomo Power Company Ltd to provide an alternative electricity supply to the people. Edo remains the heartbeat of the nation, and certainly must not be the heartbeat of darkness”.
The group also demanded immediate resolution of the dispute between BEDC and NUEE, warning that it would mobilise residents if electricity was not restored within its stipulated deadline.
“Failure to achieve a satisfactory resolution within this period will compel our organisation to mobilise citizens vertically and horizontally for mass peaceful protest tagged ‘BEDC MUST GO’,” the group warned.
With negotiations still deadlocked, workers refusing to resume duty and no definite restoration timetable announced, electricity consumers across the four states face continued disruption to their businesses, official activities and daily lives.
