By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja
Electricity supply across the country may face disruptions as members of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) in the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) have embarked on an indefinite strike over unresolved welfare and operational issues.
In a notice dated September 24, 2025, and signed by its Acting General Secretary, Dominic Igwebike, the union directed all TCN workers to withdraw their services with immediate effect, citing the expiration of an earlier ultimatum issued to the company’s management.
The union said the action became inevitable after repeated appeals to address outstanding staff salaries, welfare demands, and operational challenges were ignored. Issues raised include non-implementation of the national minimum wage, casualisation of workers, non-provision of tools and protective equipment since 2021, non-payment of staff salaries since April 2025, lack of operational vehicles, and unresolved retirement benefits.
The notice read: “We cannot continue to fold our arms while we watch our rights being violated and the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) going down the drain. To this end, the union is compelled to withdraw its services until management discharges its obligations to the workforce. This directive takes immediate effect and total compliance is expected.”
The TCN manages the national grid system including high-voltage transmission towers, substations, and other critical power supply assets.
Checks on power supply as of 5:00 pm Thursday, however, showed that the national grid was still operating normally, with total load allocation to distribution companies at 4,411MW. On the generation side, Engineer Power (601MW), Kainji Hydro (473MW), and Shiroro Hydro (398MW) were the top three contributors.
Efforts to get TCN’s reaction were unsuccessful, as the company’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, did not respond to calls or messages.
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