President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate sacking of the management of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) over Monday’s strike by the Nigerian Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE).
The President also approved a new interim management board to oversee the day-to-day running of the company pending when a new board would be inaugurated.
The strike led to power outages in areas under the AEDC franchise including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nasarawa, Kogi, and some parts of Edo, Niger and Kaduna States.
The striking workers who were protesting their unpaid allowances, salaries and unremitted pension deductions, had accused the AEDC of not remitting the pension contributions of its members for more than 20 months.
The strike which saw the affected areas without electricity for several hours, was later called off after the federal government reached a compromise with the executives of the union at a meeting brokered by the Minister of State for Power, Goddy Agba.
The immediate sacking of the AEDC board was conveyed to the management in a statement issued on Tuesday by the media aide to Agba, Ofem Uket.
“The presidential directives as conveyed also directed the Bureau of Public Enterprises to set up a new management team of the AEDC,” the statement said.
“In a memorandum of understanding MOU, jointly signed by the minister of state power Goddy Jedy Agba, the chairman Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission NERC, Sanusi Garba, director-general, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Alex Okoli, comrade Joe Ajaero on behalf of the union, the federal government ordered the suspension of the strike (and asked to be given) 21 days within which the outstanding emoluments and entitlements of staff will be paid,” the statement added.