The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced a nationwide blackout following the shutdown of the national grid by labour unions in the early hours of Monday.
The grid shutdown occurred at approximately 2:19 a.m. on June 3, 2024, as part of a nationwide industrial action initiated by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC).
The unions commenced the strike to protest the Federal Government’s proposal for a N60,000 minimum wage, countering with their own demand of N615,500, citing the high cost of living as justification.
In a statement titled “Grid shutdown: Union Deliberately Shuts Down the National Grid,” TCN spokesperson Ndidi Mbah confirmed that the shutdown was a deliberate action by the workers.
The statement read: “The Transmission Company of Nigeria hereby informs the general public that the labour union has shut down the national grid, resulting in a blackout nationwide. The national grid shutdown occurred at about 2:19 a.m. this morning, June 3, 2024.
“At about 1:15 a.m. this morning, the Benin Transmission Operator under the Independent System Operations unit of TCN reported that all operators were driven away from the control room and that staff that resisted were beaten while some were wounded in the course of forcing them out of the control room. Without any form of control or supervision, the Benin Area Control Centre was brought to zero.”
More to come…
