Power cuts, shut banks as NLC strike affects Nigerian cities

Multiple banks closed in Abuja on Tuesday as several areas of the federal capital suffered power cuts on the first day of the Nigeria Labour Congress warning strike.

Workers led by the NLC want a reversal of President Bola Tinubu’s twin polices of petrol removal and devaluation of naira, which have made cost of living crisis worse.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) did not join the warning strike embarked upon by its sister union, NLC. The TUC honoured a meeting with the federal government on Monday which NLC boycotted.

Both groups held a strike in August but suspended the action following an offer of talks with the government. Since then, the government’s response to the hardship Nigerians face has remained measly.

The federal government claimed it gave each state N5 billion and thousands of bags of rice to share to citizens, but governors said they received only N2 billion in cash.

The mass purchase of rice for distribution has caused additional problems as prices have shot up on high demand. A bag of rice sold weekend for more than N48,000 up from N32,000.

Closed banks and power cuts

Most banks in the capital city of Abuja were shut on Tuesday while electricity workers were locked out of their premises by unions, causing power cuts in most homes and offices in the capital.

“Today’s action is see how government can reverse its policy because every family is feeling the pain of harsh policies … which has resulted in the astronomical increase in transportation, food, goods and services … just to name but a few,” said NLC’s Bayelsa state secretary, Angese John, according to Reuters.

In Lagos, the strike was more muted because most workers are employed in the less unionised private sector while in parts of Kano state union officials were enforcing a stay at home at schools and banks.

In Uyo, Akwa Ibom state, the entrance to the two state and one federal secretariat were barricaded by members of the union as early as 7 a.m. as workers who turned up for work were asked to return home.

Members of the union converged at the deserted state secretariat drumming, chanting solidarity songs and waving NLC flags.

In Edo, members of the Union blocked the entrance to the state high court, where the election petition tribunals for state and national assembly was scheduled for hearing. The hearing has been postponed to Thursday.

Channels Television reported that civil servants in Kaduna state also joined the strike. Entrance to banks and other financial institutions in the state were locked.

In Bauchi, the Nation posted a picture of a deserted secretariat as workers joined the nationwide warning strike in compliance with the directives of the NLC. The paper reported that all the entrances of the secretariat were still locked as at 10:30 a.m., with members of the NLC seen outside the premises.