Darkness looms as NUEE lay siege @Ikeja Electric - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The customers of Ikeja Electric Plc (IE) may once again experience the discomfort of extended darkness as members of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) have laid siege at the Company Headquarters in Alausa Ikeja and all its other offices across Lagos, reports ITRealms.

The Union members who claim that the picketing of IE followed the disengagement of about 40 members of staff, have forcibly shut down operations at the offices thereby resisting access to IE personnel and customers who  have attempted to gain access to the offices.

According to Ikeja Electric, the recent separation of staff, was due to varying actions which are not in furtherance of the overall company objectives.

This protest in coming in the heels of the promotions of about 300 employees last week and the recruitment of over 500 new employees in the past one year. The promotion exercise cut across all cadres of staff, including members of the respective Unions in the organization.

Speaking on the development, Head Corporate Communications Felix Ofulue, questioned the motive for embarking on the protest which he described as self-serving.

“When NUEE chooses to cripple socio-economic activities of over a million households, for issues that can be resolved through dialogue, one then wonders if the motives are as selfless as they claim. How do you plunge a country’s commercial nerve center into darkness because of a few of your members who have been separated from the business for cogent reasons? It is really appalling. It’s an abuse of privilege to picket.” he said.

“Imagine that our employees in Alausa Injection Sub Station were chased out of the facility by the Union and they had to shut down 9 Feeders that supply power to Ikeja and its environs on safety grounds. This has resulted in an immediate blackout for at least 3000 customers”, Ofulue concluded.

He further apologized to customers for the disruption of service by NUEE and promised that they will continue to work with stakeholder to ensure that the company continues to improve and provide quality service to our customers.”

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Akpabio, Rabiu lead guests to lay foundation for Editors’ Plaza

ITREALMS:

The foundation stone laying ceremony for the multi-purpose Editors’ Plaza owned by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has been slated to hold on Thursday, March 1, 2018 at the project site located in the Guzape District of Abuja, reports ITRealms.

According to the Publicity Secretary, NGE, Mr. Ken Ugbechie, the former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, who is also the Senate Minority Leader will chair the event while foremost industrialist and Chairman of BUA Group, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, will perform the traditional ‘turning of the sod’ to herald the construction of a befitting plaza for Nigerian editors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He also told ITRealms that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Alhaji Mohammed Bello, and his Information and Culture counterpart, Alhaji Lai Mohammed are expected to grace the occasion, alongside governors, heads of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), members of corporate Nigeria, the business community, media executives, among others.

The journey of the proposed Editors’ Plaza started on April 10, 2014 with a fund-raiser in Abuja under the leadership of the then President of the Guild, Mr. Femi Adesina. The goal was to raise funds to build a befitting secretariat for the Guild in Abuja to be named as Editors’ Plaza. It is worthy to note that in its over 55 years of existence, the Guild does not have a secretariat of its own.

Part of the money realized from the fund-raiser has been used to acquire a property in Ikeja area of Lagos State christened Editors’ House which functions as the Guild’s secretariat in Lagos.

The President of the Guild, Mrs. Funke Egbemode, was also quoted in a press statement made available to ITRealms as saying that part of the proposed Editors’ Plaza in Abuja would serve as the Guild’s secretariat in Abuja while the rest would be leased to the public as offices.

“When completed, the multi-storey edifice which sits on an expansive 5,600 square meter (Sqm) piece of land will add to the vastly changing Abuja landscape,” she said.

Egbemode equally said the construction of the Editors’ Plaza offers friends of the Guild, individuals and corporates, and all advocates and lovers of free press an opportunity to partner with Nigerian editors whom she described as the torchbearers of the nation’s democracy and bulwark against tyranny.

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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