The Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEC) has voiced its objections to the takeover of Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) by Powercom Smart Grid Nigeria (PSGN).
SSAEC stated that the process of takeover was marred by illegality and lacked their involvement.
The union’s concerns were officially communicated through a letter addressed to the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprise on July 24.
Powercom Smart Grid Nigeria (PSGN), a specialised utility company, said it has signed an agreement to the takeover of Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO).
PSGN announced the takeover in a press statement on 12 July.
This takeover comes after the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) last July appointed a new management for the KEDCO. The appointment followed the Nigerian government’s restructuring of five electricity distribution companies (DisCos) following Fidelity Bank’s takeover of three DisCos.
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KEDCO’s board of directors was subsequently dissolved.
The PSGN, a wholly indigenous utility solutions company, announced the commencement of a wide-ranging re-positioning agenda for KEDCO.
“The transformation exercise will set the groundwork for the complete overhaul of KEDCO and facilitate the speedy re-positioning of the power distribution company into a leader in the power distribution segment,” PSGN said.
“The phased corporate makeover agenda will imbue KEDCO with the capacity to become the reference point for operational efficiency and service excellence in Nigeria.
“With the support of our global partners, who are reputed for groundbreaking innovation and technology, this strategic intervention will ensure a visible improvement in the operations, performance and efficiency of KEDCO, resulting in value creation for its various stakeholder groups, especially the customers within the KEDCO infrastructure network.
Electricity staff union disagrees
In response to the takeover, the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEC), in a statement co-signed by its President General, Chika Benedict and General Secretary, Nnamdi Ajibo, said the takeover was marred by illegality, and they were not involved in the process.
The electricity staff union stated this in a letter to the Director General Bureau of Public Enterprise dated 24 July.
“The attention of the leadership of the Association has been drawn to the purported sale of KEDCO to Powercom smart grid Nigeria via a press release by its public relations department dated 12th July 2023.
“As critical stakeholders, we are dismayed that such an epoch-making transaction was consummated without our input. Let it be on record that the association demand a new service-level agreement to be signed by the workers before any takeover takes place.
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“We believe very strongly that the sale of critical infrastructure such as an electricity company should have been made public to create awareness (among) the staff and customers, but it was not the case in this regard.
“The association will not fold its arm and watch a few privileged individuals annexe and plunder our common patrimony without following laid-down regulations. We will resist this action by employing every legal and legitimate means available to us.
“In the light of this foregoing. We hereby request that a meeting of stakeholders be convened immediately for an assurance of the job security of our members and by the new owners and if otherwise. Their benefits have to be fully negotiated in line with the existing conditions of service of the company, the union leaders said.