The Nation Newspaper

Tag: stable

  • CBN’s interventions to keep naira stable in 2018

    CBN’s interventions to keep naira stable in 2018

    The naira will be stable next year as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues its regular dollar injections into the foreign exchange market, traders said.

    The naira has been hovering at 360 to a dollar for investors, around the same level as in the parallel market. On the official market, it has been quoted at 306.05, a level at which the CBN has been intervening.

    Series of dollar injections into the economy totaling about $8 billion since February have helped the CBN to achieve long-term naira stability and curb volatility in the foreign exchange (forex) market.

    The CBN has in the last nine months, sustained its weekly dollar interventions in the forex market, a large part of it go into the interbank market, bureau de change (BDCs), Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS), wholesale spot and forwards auction segments, agricultural, airlines, petroleum products and raw materials and machinery sectors among others.

    The dollar injections were made to enable stakeholders in these segments secure enough forex for their operations, and in the process boost naira’s stability.

    Noteworthy, the gap between official and black market rates started to shrink since February 20, when the CBN resumed dollar interventions in key segments of the economy.

    In line with its intervention policy, the CBN had recently injected $287.89 into the SMIS.

    Data received from the CBN revealed that the figure was in favour of the agricultural, airlines, petroleum products and raw materials and machinery sectors.

    The bank’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Isaac Okorafor confirmed the figures, noting that the releases were targeted at sustaining liquidity in the market as well as boosting production and trade.

    He reiterated that the bank remained committed to ensuring liquidity in the inter-bank sector of the market and would continue to intervene in order to drive growth in the economy and guarantee stability in the market.

    With Friday’s rates hovering around N359 and N360/$1. Okorafor was upbeat that the bank’s forex intervention had effectively checked speculations around the Naira.

    He, however, disclosed that the Bank would continue to ensure enforcement through utilisation report and market intelligence.

    It will be recalled that the CBN had last Monday, also intervened in the inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market to the tune of $210 million comprising of $100 million for the wholesale segment and $55 million each for the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and invisibles segment.

  • Buhari’s son ‘stable’ after bike accident

    Buhari’s son ‘stable’ after bike accident

    President Muhammadu Buhari’s son, Yusuf, is “stable” in the hospital after a bike accident in Abuja.

    The Presidency said he was involved in the bike accident on Tuesday night around Gwarimpa in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President Mallam Garba Shehu in a statement  said Yusuf broke a limb and had an injury to the head.

    “He has undergone surgery at a clinic in Abuja. He is in a stable condition.

    “The President and his wife, Mrs Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, are thankful to Nigerians for the good wishes and prayers for their son.” he said.

    Read Also: Buhari’s son hospitalised after bike accident

  • ‘Youths promote stable economy, accountable govt’

    A new book which offers varying perspectives on the importance youths in building a stable and accountable government in Nigeria and others countries has been launched.

    The 2017 Lagos Book and Art Festival was preceded by a reading from ‘How to Win Elections in Africa: Parallels with Donald Trump’, the new book by the co-founders of RED, Chude Jideonwo and Adebola Williams.

    StateCraft Inc in conjunction with the Committee for Relevant Art (CORA) hosted young and politically-aware Nigerians at a symposium, focusing youth involvement in elections and the creation of the next world order.

    According to Williams, the book is intended to provide a comprehensive guide to understanding the key factors that contribute to the success or otherwise of any elections, especially with insights from their roles in the election of three presidents in Nigeria and Ghana, including global epochal events such as the election of Donald Trump and the Brexit vote.

    An interactive panel session moderated by award-winning journalist Tolulope Adeleru Balogun followed immediately, with Dayo Israel, an International Development Specialist and Lagos-based politician, Okechukwu Ofili, the CEO and founder of Okada Books, Vimbai Mutinhiri and Adebola Williams as members, all offering varying perspectives on the importance youth participation in building a stable and accountable government in Nigeria and others.

    Speaking during the session, Ms. Mutinhiri stated that youth apathy in Zimbabwe has contributed to the 30-year long leadership of the Southern African nation, while Adebola Williams and Dayo Israel gave practical examples on the involvement of the youths involvement in unseating the incumbents in Nigeria and Ghana during the respective 2015 and 2016 elections. Despite these recent developments in West Africa, Mr Ofili offered the caution that the youths must not relent as it remains important to ensure that elected officials are constantly engaged and held accountable with the use of social media.

    ‘How to Win Elections in Africa: Parallels with Donald Trump’ which was launched earlier during the week at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut has begun a tour around the United States of America. On Thursday, 9 November, 2017, Chude Jideonwo was hosted by the Africa in Ohio platform of Ohio University for a reading from the new book. The book tour is scheduled to continue in Washington D.C, Pennsylvania and neigbouring country, Canada.

  • Cleansing the teaching stable

    Cleansing the teaching stable

    For quacks in the teaching profession, the time is up. From January, next year only those certified by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) will be allowed to practise. According to the council, the policy is aimed at sanitising the profession so that it will no longer be for every Tom, Dick and Harry. Some teachers hail the policy; others condenm it. How far can TRCN go with the policy? Adegunle Olugbamila, Jane Chijioke and Ajose Sehindemi report.

    Teaching requires skills, but many just dabble into the profession without training. That would soon end. The Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has moved to sanitise the profession.

    From next January, teachers who are not certified will no longer be allowed. But many teachers are worried that the policy could be politicised.

    Some are anxious about the cost of sitting for the Teachers Professional  Qualifying Examination (PQE). Others are querying the rationale behind the initiative. They  wondered why as educationists  they should  sit for professional examinations again.

    But TRCN Director, Professional Operations, Dr. Steve Nwokeocha, says they have nothing to fear, noting that the examination which would be written twice yearly is  to ensure standard and quality in the system.

    He said the council was developing a standard syllabus which would be presented to stakeholders for vetting.

    Nwokeocha said when the council conducted a pilot examination in 2008, about half of the 50,000 teachers that sat for it failed, explaining that their failure reflected the poor quality of training they acquired.

    “We had to suspend the pilot examination because the council did not have a syllabus at that time,” Nwokeocha recounted.

    “And people asked that a few more things like a model, among others, should be put in place before the examination will be conducted again,’’ he added.

    TRCN Registrar/Chief Executive Prof Segun Ajiboye told our reporter on phone, that the council would not rescind the policy.

    The directive, he said, was in accordance with global best practice. Beyond ridding the profession of misfits, Ajiboye said a profession considered a confluence must be standardised so that the nation could have the best across other professions. By October,  the examination will kick off, Ajiboye said, adding that applicants had begun registering on the council’s website.

    According to Ajiboye, a professor of Social Studies and Environmental Education, the examination has been split into four category A for Ph.D holders, B Masters degrees, C first degree holders, and Category D, NCE graduates.

     

    Teachers’views

     

    Teachers are divided over the

    policy.

    A teacher from Ansa-uD-Deen Nursery and Primary School, Mr. Kunle Yusuf, welcomed the development.

    “I think it will help fish out the unqualified ones in the teaching profession. In fact, some of us here have already registered waiting for the examination. The fee also is okay. I was told NCE holders is N3000 while Bs.C is N6,000. If the examination is well conducted and monitored, I believe it will go a long way in regulating the profession,” he said.

    A teacher in a private school, who confessed that she first got the information from our reporter, doubted the sincerity of the motive.

    She said: “I am just hearing this for the first time.All the same there is no cause for alarm. It is an avenue to pass a message to teachers to buckle up because, in this profession, there are so many who disguise as teachers. Some, having been unable to secure a job for years, now see teaching as the last resort without passion for it. If the motive of TRCN is for the benefit of students who are at the receiving end, then I think it’s a beautiful approach. But if it gives room for any form of discrimination in terms of certification, then it is of no use.”

    Headmaster of Rising Sun Schools, Oshodi, Lagos, Mr. Oluwole Aransiola, said: “I will never register let alone write the exam.”

    Aransiola added: “So you are telling me as a professional teacher having gone through the normal procedures and certificated, will now come and write another exam for a (professional) certificate. For how long will I be writing examination? What legal and constitutional right does TRCN has to impose such on teachers. What they should be doing is evaluation and concrete innovations and ideas that can help the system to improve and not coming to tell us to write an examination just for certification.

    “No matter your degree, if you do not have a teaching certification, either NCE or BA in Education, you have no business in the classroom. We all are culprits of the fallout of the education system in the country. Of what essence is the examination then?  Is it to identify the unqualified ones? Who employed them?  What kind of certificate is that or is it simply a means for extortion? “

    Aransiola has an ally in another colleague in a public school in Agege area.

    The colleague, who pleaded anonymity, said: “It’s a good idea but why I am against it is that as a professional teacher, I am an educationist. Therefore I think those with certificates in education suppose not to participate. They should be given the certificate without paying unlike those without degrees in education.

    “They should encourage us for studying education. They should at least do that because we have our certificates and it should be a proof that we are education certified.”

    However, Mrs Folashade Ojo who teaches in Somolu supports the idea

    “I support the idea as it will bring a sort of classification when we are talking about the teaching profession. The moment some are certificated, it will bring a sort of class that will boost the ego of other teachers to also want to acquire professional certification.”

    A  professor of Educational Technology at the Lagos State University Biodun Akinpelu, also pitched his tent with TRCN.

    “I am in support of this policy so that we can salvage the future of our children. What is happening (in teaching) in Nigeria is abnormal,” Akinpelu began.

    “Hitherto, teaching has been an all-comers affair and it is about time we needed those who are professionaly qualified to do justice in this area.

    “In the universities, we call ourselves lecturers but that is merely a nomenclature. Once you stand before students to impart knowledge, you are a teacher.

    “It’s not about having masters or PhD. It is about methodology; it is about understanding models of teaching. A professional teacher often sees the students as his own children and not as sex objects. A teacher is also passionate about reproducing himself, I mean producing teachers that will surpass him when he eventually retires.

    “In Canada for instance, you cannot teach if you are not professionally certified. Teachers earn highest in that country.

    “I remember some of our students who finished from here (LASU) travelled to Canada sometimes ago, but were not allowed to operate as teachers. The university had to liaise with TRCN to get them their certificates and when they returned (to Canada), they turned out some of the best in that country.”

    For Dr Victor Akinola, former Chairman Academic Staff Union of College of Education, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education Oto Ijanikin Lagos, the categorisation of the exam would if anything, separate the wheat from the chaff.

    “For me, this kind of quality assurance policy is not out of place,” Akinola said.

    According to him, in the United Kingdom for instance, teachers are valued because they are respected based on their varying specialisations and are encouraged to unleash their potentials.

    “This is unlike what we have in this country. Most of the text books recommended for children in preparatory, primary and even secondary schools, and approved by our  government  are authored by professors in universities many  of  who have neither been in the classroom nor have direct contact with these children.

    ‘’Many of these books are in the market. Go there and see the authors. I don’t have to mention names. Meanwhile, we have experts who specialise in primary education studies (PES), ECCE (Early Childhood Care Education) among others and have direct access to these children constantly; yet they would not be given the opportunity to address these key areas.

    “Even when it comes to making recommendations to government on basic and secondary education, it is these same professors that do it and this is why some of these policies do not fully have maximum impact on learners.”

     

  • Fitch Ratings affirms Wema Bank’s BB-, stable outlook

    Fitch Ratings affirms Wema Bank’s BB-, stable outlook

    Fitch Ratings, a global leader in credit ratings and research, has affirmed Wema Bank’s Viability Rating (VR), saying it has a stable outlook.

    The agency also affirmed the Long-term National Rating (Wema) at (BBB-) to reflect the improvement in creditworthiness over time relative to the best credits in Nigeria.

    In Fitch’s opinion, the banking industry will remain challenging considering volatile and low oil prices, continued disruptions in oil production and constraints regarding the forex liquidity.

    As such, the industry could witness a rise in non-performing loan ratios, though strong capital ratios helped absorb the one-off negative fore shock. It said, the forex devaluation could impact consumer demand.

    It said the Long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) of Wema remains on stable outlook as the rating is driven by its Viability Ratings (VR) and there is no expectation of any material change in the bank’s intrinsic creditworthiness.

    Wema Bank’s strengths, which underpin its long- and short-term ratings, include its strong risk management culture, low NPL exposure and good liquidity levels. The bank’s affirmed rating further reinforces its resolve to remain a smarter and efficient bank.

    Wema Bank Plc’s Managing Director, Segun Oloketuyi, said the rating is an affirmation of the bank’s transformation and its positioning as one of the major players within the  retail banking landscape.

    Fitch also affirmed the Viability Ratings (VR) of all the Nigerians banks, Fitch has revised the SRFs to ‘B’ from ‘B+’ for the systemically important banks; FirstBank, UBA, Zenith and GTBank, following the downgrade of Nigeria’s sovereign ratings.

    The challenging and volatile operating environment in Nigeria and other key rating factors, particularly the banks’ financial profiles, constrain the VRs in the highly speculative ‘b’ range. Despite slower asset growth and higher loan impairment charges, Fitch expects banks to remain profitable in the year due to still strong earnings generation and as such all banks’ national ratings have been affirmed given their unchanged respective creditworthiness relative to each other.

  • Practical steps to ensuring stable power supply

    One of the greatest gifts any government can give to Nigerians is stability of power supply in the country. In spite of the genuine attempts by successive governments and considerable amount of money expended on the power sector to resolve the electricity challenges in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), there is much to be done to meet the yearnings of Nigerians.

    Stability of power supply in Nigeria is beyond partisan political interest. For this single reason, the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has elevated the fulfilment of this expectation of Nigerians to a top priority agenda. In addition to several commendable steps, the minister in charge of Power, Works and Housing, BabatundeRajiFashola SAN recently delivered a public lecture titled, “ Nigeria’s Electricity Challenge : A Road Map for Change.” This Road Map is a three–phase plan, comprising the provision of incremental power, from which we will move to attaining steady power, and to the final phase of uninterrupted power in the country. This is a lofty ambition and the audacity of this administration to envision comprehensively is admirable.

    Regrettably, the resurgence of attacks on critical oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta by the Niger Delta Avengers poses serious constraint to these efforts aimed at achieving stable power supply.  For instance, the new militant group has within three weeks crippled oil and gas supplies from major facilities belonging to the Shell, Chevron, Agip and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).  This worrisome attack has within three months depleted the nation’s electricity generation capacity from the highest ever level of 5,074 MW, in February 2 this year to just over 2000 MW presently. More worrisome is the fact that the militants are continuing with their attack on oil and gas pipelines signalling fresh hurdles for the petroleum and power sectors.

    Vandalism of gas pipelines has become an albatross on the nation’s journey to deliver stable power supply in the country. It requires attitudinal orientation to address the problems. This recommendation is based on the fact that it is only when the mind-set of the vandals is changed to know that political agitation can be pursued by other means rather by  destruction of  national assets and power infrastructures.

    The implication of continued destruction of gas and power infrastructures is far reaching.  It is an invitation to absolute darkness in the country. It is a danger to government’s Road Map to resolving the myriad problems in NESI. More importantly, it is a veritable source of economic depletion and underdevelopment. Every time an oil pipeline is damaged, oil production decreases, so does the sale of crude oil, and this means income accruing to the federation account is depleted and the three tiers of governments suffer as a result.

    Obviously, this will negatively impact on major power projects across the country, and significantly on the on-going Federal Government’s amnesty programme which former Niger Delta militants are benefitting from. Recent statistics from the coordinating agency reveal that apart from 30, 000 youths being paid monthly stipend, 2,152 Niger Delta youths have been given full scholarship to study in 32 higher institutions abroad across five continents. The statement further states that 2,723 youths from the region have been given full scholarship to study in 32 Nigerian Universities, while 76 of them graduated from Novena University this year. Also on record are a total of 728 beneficiaries who are in the final year and expected to graduate this session. With all these taken into account, common sense dictates that it is in the collective interest of the Niger Deltans that these renewed attacks on oil and gas installations stop. In an appeal for their immediate cessation, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing recently stated that it would be a decision that fosters national development and a shared prosperity.  His words: “I must emphasize everybody who cares about our prosperity must get involved in this conversation and act positively to help to bring an end to the unpatriotic actions of those who attack our oil platforms and gas lines”.

    In the face of the present danger and in its resolve to ensure stability in power supply, government has begun the process of diversifying the country’s energy mix and to a large extent reduce the dependence on gas and the risk that over- dependence on this power source poses to the government’s plan for incremental, steady and ultimately uninterrupted power.  One of these approaches is the Ministry of Power’s effort to stimulate the use of solar power. In this regard, the ministry recently approved about 15 different solar projects to generate a combined capacity of 1,286 MW of power.  It is also accelerating plans to complete Zungeruhydro power plant, the Kashimbilla hydro plant, the Gurara hydro plant and to conclude the procurement plan for the construction of the Mambilla hydro plant.

    Government also recently took steps to strengthen the Distribution Companies in the power sector. This is to enable them improve service delivery and obtain financing to upgrade their equipment, provide meters, and resolve customer complaints. Part of this process is the disbursement of additional N55 billion from the N213 billion initiated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stabilize and enhance market potentials of NESI.   It is pertinent to state that the fund is not a gift or cash donation but a loan support of a 10- year tenor to cushion the financial and liquidity issues which are hindering   progress towards the goal of incremental power.

    There is also a partnership between the United States government, under the aegis of USAID and Power Africa Initiative on one hand; and Nigeria’s power distribution companies (DisCos)  on the other . It is a partnership through which $9 million will be provided each year to improve the DisCos’ performance via embedded advisory support. This is another big step towards achieving the Road Map’s first phase of incremental power.

    Although there are noticeable obstacles in the nation’s journey toward achieving stability in power supply, government appears to be in the right direction in its efforts to offer the seemingly elusive ideal of stable power supply to the people. The expectations of Nigerians will remain unabated until this lofty dream is realized. What is instructive this time is the strategy of purpose with which the government is going about its business.

     

    • Aneke is, General Manager Public Affairs, Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA).

  • TUC to NERC: Ensure stable power before tariff hike

    The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has reiterated its position against moves by the Nigeria Electricity Commission (NERC), electricity distribution and generation companies (DISCOs and GENCOs) to increase electricity tariff. The TUC said the move was anti-people and lacked every sense of logicality.

    In a communiqué by the TUC President, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, after a meeting with NERC officials, on Tuesday, Kaigama described as lame the argument in some quarters that an act of the National Assembly actually empowers the Commission to unilaterally increase tariff and that the act cannot be tampered with even by the federal parliament.

    “For us, any act, policy or idea that does not consider the poor masses is undemocratic and evil. It is evil because it further impoverishes the masses. Naturally, our thinking is that business is all about investment and profit and not the other way round. Every business has its gestation period before it starts generating profit. Unfortunately, NERC and the investors do not want to go through the pains,” Kaigama said.

    The TUC president argued that if the investors need contributions from people to invest, it automatically makes the people shareholders to the company. “For NERC, DISCOs and GENCO to give the consumers crazy bills in order to rake in enough money without making them partners is unacceptable and fraudulent,” he said.

    Kaigama said it is imperative that investors realise that government privatised the sector because it could no longer fund it, adding that the investors are expected to fund the sector without inflicting pains on the masses.

    “The Congress told the NERC officials that truly the challenges in the sector are enormous, which remains the reason why it was privatised. However, the officials were advised to re-strategise. Nigerians are good followers and shall be willing to pay their bills if the product is made available.

    We are not ready to pay for the electricity we do not consume,” he said.

  • Emefiele promises stable Naira in 2016

    Emefiele promises stable Naira in 2016

    Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele said at the weekend that the apex bank is evolving additional measures to boost the economy and stabilise the naira.

    Emefiele spoke during an Interactive Session with some editors in Abuja. He declined to give details of the measures and modalities for their implementation.

    “Don’t ask me because I will not disclose our strategy for now’’, adding that doing so would be counter-productive and pre-emptive.

    The CBN boss explained that the Nigerian economy was not as bad as being portrayed when compared with other economies in Africa.

    ‘’If we are able to reduce importation, the demand for the dollar will fall automatically.’’

    Emefiele said the country should go back to the farm to produce what was needed.

    “Public servants should also engage in farming because the only business public servants are allowed to engage in is farming.

    ‘’And you don’t need power to farm tomato, vegetables or fish’’, Emefeile said.

    He blamed unscrupulous businessmen who engaged in illicit activities for exerting intense pressure on the dollar and other currencies.

    According to him, the apex bank has ensured reasonable stability in the value of the naira by keeping official exchange to the dollar between N196 and N197 to the dollar.

    Emefeile advised Nigerians to always approach their banks for their request for foreign exchange at the official rate as against patronising the black market operators.

    ‘’CBN does not have plenty dollars to sustain the bureau de change’’, he stressed.

    The CBN boss, however, insisted that the 22 per cent depreciation of the naira was reasonable when compared with other emerging economies adversely affected by global economic recession.

    ‘’Zambia, for example, has depreciated its currency by about 48 per cent, Angola by 25 per cent while Brazil depreciated its currency by about 48 per cent from October last year till now.

    ‘’Our situation is not as bad as people think. When you devalue, there must be a structural adjustment. We have never followed up with structural adjustment.

    ‘’So, the approach we are adopting at the moment is that, having done a 22-per cent adjustment in the currency, let us structurally adjust our position.

    ‘’Let us say, look, stop importing rice; stop importing toothpick; stop importing tomato from South Africa; stop importing 20 million eggs daily from Africa.

    ‘’That’s the gist of what we are saying. We are saying Nigeria can do without these items. And the truth is that the reserves are no longer there.’’

    Emefeile said CBN had created the enabling environment to encourage the growth of small scale businesses through the grant of soft loans to small business operators.

    He said only N60 billion of the more than N200 billion soft loans meant for SMEs had been accessed so far.

    He urged Nigerians to be patient with the Buhari administration in its efforts at easing the sufferings of Nigerians.

    ‘’Savings from the Treasury Single Account has also hit over N2 trillion,’’ Emefeile added.

  • All banks sound, stable, says CBN

    All banks sound, stable, says CBN

    •Naira strengthens

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has defended the stability of the banking system, saying no Nigerian bank is “experiencing stress.”

    CBN’s Director of Communications, Ibrahim Mu’azu, assured the banking public that the Nigerian banking system is sound and that all banks are in compliance with both the regulatory and prudential requirements.

    Meanwhile, the naira yesterday strengthened by 2.1 per cent to N235 per dollar on the unofficial market. The local currency became upbeat after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) moved to enforce documentation requirements on bureau de change (BDC) operators prior to dollar sales.

    The CBN had asked BDC operators to submit accounts showing their dollar usage at the start of each week before they can access future sales, a move traders say was aimed at curbing speculation.

    The naira had fallen sharply on Wednesday, a day after the apex bank unexpectedly cut interest rates to stimulate lending. The currency was quoted at the pegged rate of N197 on the official interbank market on Thursday. “It has been observed that a good number of bureaux de change purchased foreign exchange from the central bank without rendering returns on their utilisation,” the CBN said.

    The CBN has introduced currency controls to stop the naira weakening, defying calls to further devalue the currency hard hit by the plunge in global crude prices.

  • Why power supply is stable, by unionist

    Why power supply is stable, by unionist

    Why has power supply  been stable in the past 100 days? It is because of the rains, the President Muhammadu Buhari factor and steady supply of gas to power plants, says National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) General Secretary Comrade Joe Ajaero.

    Ajaero said: “During this time of the year, there is always a slight improvement in power supply because of the rise in water level. That is, the lake goes up and hydro power stations generate more power. Second is the Buhari factor, which has made the operator to sit up and added to that, before now, the gas pipelines were  usually vandalised.

    “We suspect it may be in collaboration with some highly placed individuals who award contracts for the pipelines to be repaired which runs into billions of Naira. If the pipelines are vandalised and the contracts are awarded for repairs, almost every two months, it is big money for them. I think that because of the fear that those who engaged in the business may be caught, for now there is relative peace and the gas pipelines are delivering gas to the power plants.”

    Continuing, he said: ”But we fear the power situation may not be sustainable. Once the rainy season ends and the water level drops, there will be problem. Again, today, all power being generated is being pumped into the system, there is no reserve in case of any breakdown, and there is no reserve in case of maintenance and so on. We ought to have reserve for emergencies. Sadly, we do not have that at the moment.”

    On NUEE’s face-off with Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC), Ajaero said though the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police, attempted to wade in, they had nothing to do with industrial relations.

    Ajaero warned that next time, PHEDC may not find it easy, saying: “Though the 18 successor- companies have disdain for union, at least, in others, there is union management relationship. Though we don’t agree on a lot of issues, we meet and discuss,  PHEDC does not want to discuss. The next time we are biting them, we are going to bite them hard. This one is just an example. ‘’

    He continued: “We went to Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) and the management said they were not going to respect the ruling of IAP. They wrote to us a letter that they had appealed to the National Industrial Court, NIC, but, till now, we have not seen the appeal. Nevertheless, the issues now are not the matters presented at IAP. They wanted to use that excuse of being in court to continue to perpetuate anti-labour practices.

    “The arrangement in the power sector makes it easier for us to select a place and deal with the issues there. Before now, it would have been a nationwide action. We have perfected our plan so that there could be power outage in Port Harcourt, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa without the action affecting other states. We feel sorry for the residents of these states who experienced power outage during the action, and we pray that we will not be forced to take a similar action again. If we take this action again, the management won’t see anyone to negotiate with. Electricity sector is a unionised sector,” he added.

    Explaining the genesis of the conflict, Ajaero said: “At privatisation, the first six months was a transition period from Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to the new investors. What were transferred to new investors were the files of the workers and grades, only Port Harcourt claimed that the membership of the union was not transferred. Even for the six months that nobody was meant to talk, they did not pay their dues and none of the workers has withdrawn his membership of the union.