FG’s intervention facilitated settlement of AEDC workers entitlements – Minister

The Ministry of Power says it has facilitated the payment of all entitlements of the workers of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) which caused the recent industrial action.

The industrial action led to the shutdown of the company’s facilities and disrupted power supply across FCT, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States.

Minister of Power Abubakar Aliyu in a statement in Abuja on Monday said that the intervention by the ministry was as agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) and other stakeholders in December 2021.

”The entitlements settled include; unpaid allowances, salaries, union deductions and unremitted 20 months pensions contributions deducted from workers’ salaries.

The minister also reaffirmed the commitment of the ministry to working with all stakeholders to ensure steady electricity supply and stability in the electricity industry.

According to him, the Federal Government will continue to ensure that all the electricity sector players and stakeholders work according to the rules and guidelines.

It would be recalled that in December 2021, the ministry took the initiative that ended the AEDC workers strike by engaging the organised labour.

The strike came at the same time as changes in shareholding in AEDC and the appointment of an interim management for AEDC by the shareholders and was endorsed by Nigerian Electricity Requlatory Commission (NERC) and Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).