Politics
Why NLC Suspended Picketing Of Power Firm
The Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC) may have been forced to suspend its picketing of Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) following the infiltration of its ranks by suspected hoodlums and hired thugs.
The Tide gathered from a highly placed authority in the congress that the picketing was suspended Friday because the protest was taking a violent dimension.
The authority who pleaded anonymity revealed to The Tide that thugs suspected to have been hired by the management of PHEDC attacked the protesting NLC members in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The alleged hired thugs were said to have mobilised and attacked the congress members at the Moscow Road Zonal headquarters of PHEDC, Borikiri Business Unit and Ikwerre Road Office of the Diobu Business Unit of the company.
“They emerged in their numbers attacked our members and broke the chains used in sealing the entrances of the company offices”, the source said.
The Tide learnt that, during the violence unleashed on the NLC members, the official vehicle of the South South Zonal Chairman of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), Comrade Godwin Eruba, was smashed and vandalised while his bag containing valuable documents and unspecified amount of money was also removed. Some members of the congress were said to have been injured in the fracas.
But while the attackers in Port Harcourt were suspected thugs hired to protect the interest of PHEDC, The Tide gathered that in Uyo and Ikot Ekpene areas of Akwa Ibom State, the attackers were members of the public who have been aggrieved by the unsatisfactory services of the company.
The hoodlums took advantage of the picketing to vent their anger on some officials of the company.
The Business Manager of Uyo Business unit was said to have been beaten to coma while his Ikot Ekpene counterpart was lucky as he had observed the influx of the hooligans and made away through the back door. It was equally gathered that apart from the two principals officers of the company, other persons also got injured.
It was in the light of the dangerous and violent way the thugs and hooligans were infiltrating the protest, according to our source, that NLC decided to suspend the picketing exercise for the safety of members and other members of the public.
The picketing which started last Tuesday in the South South zone also saw a breakdown of dialogue between the NLC leadership and PHEDC management.
The Tide learnt that choice of venue for the meeting in Port Harcourt was responsible for break down in negotiation while NLC had chosen the Labour House located at D/Line part of Port Harcourt while the PHEDC management preferred Sansun Hotel in Trans Amadi, apparently for safety reasons.
The meeting which was scheduled to hold on Thursday last week by 2Pm could not hold.
Intervention of the Rivers State Director of State Security Service (SSS), to broker peace was said to had saved the situation.
The meeting which was said to be convened at the Hotel Presidential after the said attack in Port Harcourt, our source said, lingered till 3.00am in the morning of Saturday.
Effort by The Tide to get the outcome of the meeting was unsuccessful until the time of filing this report.
On Tuesday when the picketing began, the Leader of the NLC team, Comrade Opuoyibo Lilly-West and the Head of the Police team that monitored the exercise at the zonal office of PHED at Mosco Road, Port Harcourt were satisfied with the security atmosphere of the exercise as it was very peaceful.
Lilly-West who also is the chairman, Rivers State Civil Service Union had also assured members of the public that picketing would remain peaceful.
He said, the picketing was in protest against the PHED management stance against workers unionism which is a constructional right of workers.
Lilly-West regretted that PHED, management had not shown commitment in implementing the tripartite agreement between the government, the company and workers which gave way for the take over of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
He said the congress in response to casualisation which he termed slavery, non payment of severance package and refusal to absorb the work force by the private investors who took over from the PHCN amongst others was intended to protect the interest of its members in the company.
Another issue raised by NLC was allegation of a form distributed to workers in PHEDC which sought to know their interest in unionism, stressing that the company laid of most active members off workers union as it took over from PHCN and had also marked out any staff interested in allowing deduction of union fee from his or her monthly salary for sack.
“We have written series of letters to the company’s management but they have always turned them down, saying they don’t have any business with labour, Lilly-West said and insisted that the picketing would continue until management decides to open the window for discussion.
In Cross River, the State Chairman of NLC, Comrade John Ushie who led the picketing in the state accussed PHEDC of sacking 134 union leaders in its move to abolish trade union in the company.
“There is nowhere in the world that an organisation takes over and wants to abolish trade union activities in the company,” Ushie said, remarking that the picketing would not stop until the government meet their demand. He also stated that, the Nigerian law is against casualisation of workers in whatever form. After shunning a meeting called by the union thrice, they continued to demonstrate their unfriendly posture with the union.
The Chairman of Nigeria Union of Electricity Employee (NUEE) in Cross Rivers State, Comrade Daniel Asuquo who corraborated what the state NLC boss said explained that the new managers of PHEDC remained adamant and unwilling to negotiate with the workers on issues of severance allowances and entitlements.
According to Asuquo, the union came in solidarity with the state NLC so that the right of the Nigerian workers would not be trampled upon and called on the management of PHEDC to demonstrate courage by ensuring dialogue with the union to ensure safe landing for the workers who have been penciled down for lay off by the new company.
The Managing Director of 4 Power Consortium had told newsmen recently that PHEDC was thoroughly assessing workers performance as their contract duration ends soon.
He said a consultant had been contracted to handle the issue and stressed that the exercise was not intended in sack workers but in finding area where each worker can perform better.
The contract agreement ended on April 2014, but management of PHEDC extended it by one month which was expected to end last month.
Chris Oluoh
Prof Chinedu Nebo, Minister of Power
The Senate yesterday received the 2026-2028 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper from President Bola Tinubu, marking the formal launch of the 2026 federal budget cycle.
In a letter addressed to the upper chamber, Tinubu said the submission complies with statutory requirements and sets out the fiscal parameters that will guide the preparation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill.
He explained that the MTEF/FSP outlines the macroeconomic assumptions, revenue projections, and spending priorities that will shape Nigeria’s fiscal direction over the next three years.
The letter was read during plenary by the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North), who urged lawmakers to expedite consideration of the document.
“It is with pleasure that I forward the 2026 to 2028 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper for the kind consideration and approval of the Senate.
“The 2026 to 2028 MTEF and FSP were approved during the Federal Executive Council meeting of December 3, 2025, and the 2026 budget of the Federal Government will be prepared based on the parameters and fiscal assumptions therein,” the President stated.
Last week, the Federal Executive Council approved the fiscal projections, pegging the oil benchmark price at $64.85 per barrel and adopting a budget exchange rate of ?1,512/$1 for 2026—figures expected to significantly shape revenue forecasts and expenditure planning.
After reading the President’s letter, Jibrin referred the document to the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), with a directive to submit its report by Wednesday, December 17.
The Senate adjourned shortly after to allow committees to commence scrutiny of the fiscal framework and continue the ongoing screening of ambassadorial nominees.
Tinubu’s communication to the Senate came less than 24 hours after he transmitted the same MTEF/FSP documents to the leadership of the House of Representatives.
The letter was read on the House floor by the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, who also urged timely legislative action as required by law.
The MTEF and FSP are statutory instruments mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act and serve as the blueprint for Nigeria’s annual budgets.
They outline the government’s fiscal stance, macroeconomic assumptions, revenue frameworks, projected deficits, and sectoral priorities over a three-year period.
The Tide reports that approval by the National Assembly is a prerequisite for the executive to present the Appropriation Bill for the next fiscal year.
In a statement on Saturday, the former Senate Leader stated that the allocation of nominees across states and geopolitical zones falls short of the constitutional requirement for fair representation in the composition of the Federal Government.
The ex-Senate Whip warned that allowing the list to pass could deepen ethnic suspicion at a time when the administration should be consolidating national unity.
He highlighted disparities in the spread of nominees, noting that while some states have three or four slots, others have none. He also cited the inclusion of Senator Adamu Garba Talba from Yobe, who reportedly died in July.
“The entire North-East states have seven nominees in the list. Further checks revealed that the South-West geo-political zone has 15 nominees, while North-West and South-East have 13 and 9, respectively.
“North-Central region has 10 nominees in the list of career and non-career ambassadorial nominee while South-South parades 12 nominees,” Senator Ndume said.
According to him, such imbalances could heighten tensions and undermine Section 14(3) of the Constitution.
“My sincere appeal to President Tinubu is to withdraw this list. At this critical juncture in his administration, he should avoid missteps that could undermine national unity and foster ethnic distrust.
“I know him to be a cosmopolitan leader who is at home with every segment and stakeholder in the country. He should withdraw that list and present a fresh set of nominees that will align with the spirit of the Constitution on the Federal Character Principle,” Senator Ndume added.
He accused the legislators of undermining the sanctity of the legislature and acting as instruments of destabilization.
“The members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have, by their actions since they assumed office, shown that they are political puppets and a clog in the wheels of democratic progress,” Comrade Ememobong stated, adding that “They will go down in history as enemies of democracy and those who made mockery of the legislature.”
“So the easiest way to describe their action is a defection from APC to APC,” he said.
Comrade Ememobong announced that the party would deploy constitutional provisions to reclaim its mandate from those who have “ignobly and surreptitiously” abandoned the platform on which they were elected.
“Consequently, the PDP will take legal steps to activate the provision of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) to recover the mandate gained under the banner of our party which these people have now switched to another platform,” he said.
He urged party members in Rivers State to remain calm and steadfast.
“We urge all party members in Rivers State to remain faithful and resolute, as efforts are underway to rebuild the party along the path of inclusiveness, fairness and equity,” Comrade Ememobong assured.
