Commercial activities in Kano have been severely disrupted as workers of the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) continue their strike action, now entering its third day.
The industrial action, which began on Monday, has plunged large parts of Kano, Jigawa and Katsina States into darkness, leaving small and large businesses struggling to operate without electricity.
Traders and small-scale business operators at Sharada Industrial Estate, Farm Centre Market and other commercial hubs said they were recording heavy losses due to the prolonged power outage.
A business centre operator at Farm Centre Area, Malam Umaru Aminu, said he had resorted to using gas to power his generator over the past three days because of the lack of electricity supply from KEDCO.
“We have been running on gas since the strike started. It is expensive and not sustainable,” he said.
Another trader, Abubakar Ali, lamented that the blackout had made it impossible to preserve goods. “We can’t even refrigerate our goods; it’s a huge loss for us,” he said.
Explaining the reasons behind the strike, the Deputy General Secretary of the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, Dr. Babagana Isah, accused KEDCO management of violating several agreements reached with workers.
According to him, the company has failed to pay four months out of 92 months of outstanding pension arrears, unpaid 13th-month bonuses, and five years’ worth of staff appraisals.
Isah also criticised the management for allegedly rating workers harshly based on performance without providing the necessary tools to enable them perform effectively.
Similarly, the Zonal Organising Secretary I of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Comrade Pukat Ayuba Barde, decried what he described as negligence by KEDCO management despite the company’s improved revenue generation.
“From take-off to date, management knows it has recorded significant improvement, and this is largely due to the efforts of staff,” he said.
As the strike persists, residents and business owners fear prolonged economic hardship unless the dispute between workers and management is urgently resolved.
Ahmad Sorondinki in Kano
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