By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna
Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO) was greeted with yet another protests by the sympathetic looking disengaged staffs demanding for what they described as non payments of their benefits by the management.
The protests over benefits totaling N175 million was staged right in front of the main entrance gate of the Company in Kaduna town on Wednesday.
Protesters carried placards showing different inscriptions such as “Umar Abubakar Hashidu pay us our exit token and all our dues and entitlement”, “Kaduna state Governor, your the mediator, we have confidence in you, your Excellency”, amongst others.
Accordingly, all efforts by Journalists who covered the protests to see the top management for clarification at the end of the show of shame were prevented by the company, using securities as a front.
Addressing journalist, leader of aggrieved protesters Mohammed Gora Sani, Zaria zone said payment of their benefits which was shared previously with them was scheduled for 27th October 2025, unfailingly.
He said “Anything contrary to what we agreed with MD, the management last year, we are not going to take it. They said the management now says the money is up to N175 million. So if we agree, they should start paying”
“Some of us have just said that the money should be paid to the junior staff as agreed earlier, some have advised that even the management staff that are affected, the amount should cut across them.
“But we concluded with the union that even though the money has been shared accordingly, this money should not pass 27 of this month, because that was our agreement with the management and they are aware. They said no problem”, he said.
He also stated that “The reason why we are even suspecting management, there’s something hidden in this matter, is that we are yet to know our total benefit. In a normal scenario we should be giving the breakdown of our benefit even before the payment.
“That day we talked about the payment advice, that is the breakdown of our benefit, they said already the payment slip is on the process, they are computing, that we will get it in the next 24 hours.
When we call them, they said no, the payment advice will be share through our official mail, we are going to have it through our mail, but up till now we are yet to receive it till date”, he aadded.
According to them, “What we want now is the management of Kaduna Electric, that is the Chairman Board of Director, Umar Abubakar Hashidu and others should know that we are all educated and intelligent”.
“They should give us our payment advice so that we should know our money. That is number one,
secondly, the Company is owing all the disengaged staff some months of Pension Arrears which is yet to be remitted into our various pension accounts.
“Thirdly, we agreed that the money should be paid on this Wednesday, that is today. They decided to cut off the amount and send a little amount of money as second payment yesterday night to today in the morning. Not everybody is selected”, he said.
On payment he explained that “We have levels. But one of our junior staff told me that he received 300,000 today. Apart from the 347,000 he received last week Wednesday. And one lady told me that she received 841,000. Apart from the 400,000 she received.
“So we don’t know what management of Kaduna Electric mean. This is our right. We are not begging. We are not beggars. It’s in our entitlement. We have not offended them. They voluntarily decided to disengage us. And this is what condition of service decides about it.
“They have violated their condition of service. Whatever would pay for the company, they will follow it, but anything that would pay for the employees, they will deny the employees their right.
“As I’m talking to you, most of us here, we work for the period of 10 years, no single promotion, no step, nobody knows his level in this company. Some of our staff have died, waiting for benefits in vain.
“In the first phase, they disengaged 450 staff, when the union embarked on strike, they decided to recall some of us. But currently we thought, according to them, we are 350, but we don’t have the comprehensive list of our staff”, he stated.
The protesters therefore strongly appealed to the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Uba Sani to urgently intervene, adding “Because he was the mediator during the agreement held at the government house, with the two- house union in February and the management of Kaduna Electric.
“And we want to call on the national chapter of the labor union
and the people of Kaduna, to please take note of this, because we are not going to leave our benefit.
END
