After worker protest, Abuja DisCo recall sacked GMs

© After worker protest, Abuja DisCo recall sacked GMs
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Abuja DisCo AEDC office The interim management of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) may have been forced to reverse and temporary suspend the reform in the organisation after protest by labour union over the sacking of General Managers (GMs) at AEDC. The management team had embarked of reform to reduce the top heavy position in the DisCo, which was recently taken over by the United Bank of Africa over the indebted of the company to the lender. However, following the sacking of the General Mangers, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) shut down the operation of the electricity firm, casuing outages around Abuja and the catchment area of the distribution company.

Following the disruption of service by the company, the interim management, the Bureau of Public Enterprises, NUEE and the SSAEAC reached a truce to recall all the sack GMs immediately and service restore to the affected areas. The operation of the DisCo was shut downn late Sunday as the workers expressed their grievances over the sudden sack, causing outages across the AEDC coverage area, which are FCT, Niger, Nasarawa and Kogi. Also, the workes of the DisCo had embarked on protest on Monday casue disruption to the operations of the company which forced the management to revist their action. In a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the new board of AEDC, the Bureau of Public Enterprises, NUEE and the SSAEAC, it was agreed that "AEDC should recall the GMs to work with immediate effect and simultaneously, NUEE should ensure the restoration of power supply within the AEDC coverage area with immediate effect."

They agreed to have a two-week period for daily negotiations on the reform. "Both parties should commence negotiations daily at the AEDC headquarters starting from Wednesday "The negotiations on the way forward with respect to the GMs shall be concluded on or before 8 February," it was stated in the MoU, which was signed by the AEDC Interim Managing Director, Bada Akinwumi; NUEE General Secretary, Joe Ajaero, and SSAEAC President, John Edjeba. United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc had taken over the electricity distribution company after the majority owner of the AEDC, Kann Consortium failed to service the loans obtained from UBA when it acquired the Disco in 2013. After the take over, the lender had appointed the current Chairman of UBA Pensions, a Non-Executive Director of African Finance Corporation (AFC), and former Deputy Managing Director of the bank, Victor Osadolor as the new Chairman of the DisCo.

From Global Financial Digest

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