By Mmaduabuchi Onwumelu
The Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Anambra State Chapter, Comrade Sir Humphrey Nwafor, last Monday in Awka the Anambra State Capital asked the Federal Government of Nigeria, to return electricity management back to the public domain as it was before.
The NLC boss stated this alongside his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Comrade Chris Ogbonna, while shutting down offices of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Enugu Electricity Development Company (EEDC) in Awka to protest over the Band A, Band B, Band C and Band E tariff hike.
It was gathered that the Union leaders stormed the two offices with various placards with inscriptions such as; “We say no to Band A, B, C and E tariff’; ”All Nigerians are equal”; ”Nigerians demand immediate reverse of the electricity tariff”; ”Electricity tariff is an inhumane treatment and economic sabotage”; ”Let the poor breathe”; among others, singing and calling for the reversal of the tariff.
Addressing newsmen in Awka shortly after the picketing, the State Chairman of NLC, Comrade Humphrey Nwafor and his TUC counterpart, Comrade Chris Ogbonna, said the picketing was going on simultaneously Nationwide to demand a better Nigeria.
According to them, ‘We are embarking on the protest to register our dissatisfaction and to inform the Federal Government to return the electricity management back to the public domain as it was before.
‘We strongly believe that the electricity challenges will be best managed in the hands of a public servant than private. Nigerians are seriously suffering from this. The consistent increase is adding too much pains to the masses.
‘So, we are calling on the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to urgently do the needful by reversing the sector back to public servants to be in charge of, to avoid a total breakdown,’ the bodies summited.
It was gathered that the exercise also took place in Onitsha and Nnewi respectively.
