Power has been restored to Kaduna State at 9:50 pm on Wednesday night after three days blackout occasioned by the strike of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state.
This is CAM some hours after the NLC suspended its 5-days warning strike in the state.
Recall that Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State had said his government was yet to see the evidence that the NLC was backing off from what it described as a campaign of economic and social sabotage against the people of the state.
“Power is yet to be restored after it was shut down on Sunday, 16th May 202 in a brazen violation of the laws protecting essential services and infrastructure,” he stated.
This was contained in a statement signed by El-Rufai’s Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye, stressing that the need for prompt restoration of electricity in the state and warned that Labour should not expect that it would be a matter for negotiation, much less being viewed as a precondition.
“Kaduna State Government will not participate in such a negotiation or countenance one whilst our people are still being denied their right to electricity,” he stated.
The governor stressed that withdrawing electricity as the NLC did had removed any basis for state government officials to meet the NLC last Sunday.
It added that “denying our people electricity about 18 hours to the advertised commencement of their organised sabotage was akin to putting a gun on the government’s head.
“Government has a lawful duty not to indulge blackmail.”
Earlier, the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company had welcomed the suspension of the strike action and stated that its technical team were on standby to restore power to its 11kv feeders in the state as soon as the Transmission Company of Nigeria does the same to the 33kv lines.
eventually, at 9:50 pm, electricity was restored to the state and was greeted with exciting screams of residents who have lived in total darkness since the early hours of Sunday.
