Headlines
Why We Shutdown National Grid – Organised Labour
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has provided clarification on the decision to shut down the national grid, dismissing claims by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) that labour union members attacked workers at their facilities.
The NLC emphasized that the shutdown was a deliberate action taken as part of the indefinite nationwide strike declared by the labour unions.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, explained that the union had issued a notice to the Federal government in May 2024 regarding the non-completion of the National Minimum Wage negotiation exercise and the passage into law, as well as the hike in electricity tariff.
According to Ajaero, the union had demanded the completion of the wage-setting process and a reversal of the hike in electricity tariff back to N66/kWh, but received no positive response from the government.
Ajaero faulted TCN for spreading falsehood, saying: “The Nigeria Labour Congress categorically states that Nigerian workers will not be intimidated by the management of any organisation or government entity over our rightful decision to withdraw services.”
He added: “The spreading of outright falsehood to mislead the public instead of working with other stakeholders to resolve the issues raised by Nigerian workers via the NLC and TUC is not helpful in any way.”
The NLC president denied TCN’s claims of manhandling workers, stating: “One wonders whether TCN’s management needs education on the dynamics of industrial action? It is not true that we manhandled anybody in any TCN location.”
Ajaero explained that the withdrawal of services by workers in the electricity sector led to the shutdown of the national grid, emphasizing that “without workers, no wheel can turn; no work can take place anywhere.”
NLC President explained that the union had issued a notice to the Federal government in May 2024 regarding the non-completion of the National Minimum Wage negotiation exercise and the passage into law, as well as the hike in electricity tariff.
According to Ajaero, the union had demanded the completion of the wage-setting process and a reversal of the hike in electricity tariff back to N66/kWh, but received no positive response from the government.
Ajaero faulted TCN for spreading falsehood, saying: “The Nigeria Labour Congress categorically states that Nigerian workers will not be intimidated by the management of any organisation or government entity over our rightful decision to withdraw services.”
He added: “The spreading of outright falsehood to mislead the public instead of working with other stakeholders to resolve the issues raised by Nigerian workers via the NLC and TUC is not helpful in any way.”
The NLC president denied TCN’s claims of manhandling workers, stating, “One wonders whether TCN’s management needs education on the dynamics of industrial action? It is not true that we manhandled anybody in any TCN location.” Ajaero explained that the withdrawal of services by workers in the electricity sector led to the shutdown of the national grid, emphasizing that “without workers, no wheel can turn; no work can take place anywhere.”
Ajaero warned TCN against using military force, saying: “The management of TCN would be held liable for any injury inflicted on any worker by their resort to the use of the powers of the military.” He added, “Deploying military men to its locations is a clear abuse and insult to the military, especially in a democracy.”
The NLC remains committed to the struggle for a fair living wage and reversal of the excessive electricity tariff hike, calling on Nigerians to stand in solidarity with them. Ajaero concluded, “We will not back down, and we will not give in to any blackmail, intimidation, or harassment. We demand the implementation of policies that prioritize the well-being of the people,” he added.
President Bola Tinubu has nominated Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, the immediate past sole administrator of Rivers State and a former Chief of Naval Staff, as a non-career ambassador.
Tinubu also nominated Ita Enang, a former senator; Chioma Ohakim, former First Lady of Imo State; and Abdulrahman Dambazau, former Minister of Interior and ex-Chief of Army Staff, as non-career ambassadors.
The United States Department of State on Wednesday announced that it is outlining new measures to address violence against Christians in Nigeria and other countries.
The policy, according to a statement released by the department, targets radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani ethnic militias, and other actors responsible for killings and attacks on religious communities.
“The United States is taking decisive action in response to the mass killings and attacks on Christians carried out by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani militias, and other violent groups in Nigeria and beyond,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement.
According to the statement, a new policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows the State Department to restrict visas for individuals who have “directed, authorised, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom,” and, when appropriate, extend those “restrictions to their immediate family members.”
The briefing, led by House Appropriations Vice Chair and National Security Subcommittee Chairman Mario Díaz-Balart, included members of the House Appropriations and House Foreign Affairs Committees, as well as religious freedom experts.
Participants included Representatives Robert Aderholt, Riley Moore, Brian Mast, Chris Smith, US Commission on International Religious Freedom Chair Vicky Hartzler, Alliance Defending Freedom International’s Sean Nelson, and Dr Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations.
President Bola Tinubu recently approved Nigeria’s delegation to the new US–Nigeria Joint Working Group, formed to implement security agreements from high-level talks in Washington led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
The move follows growing concerns over terrorism, banditry, and targeted attacks on Christians in Nigeria, prompting increased US scrutiny and warnings about the protection of vulnerable faith communities.
On November 20, the US House Subcommittee on Africa opened a public hearing to review Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, placing the country under heightened scrutiny for alleged religious-freedom violations.
Lawmakers examined the potential consequences of the designation, which could pave the way for sanctions against Nigerian officials found complicit in religious persecution.
The Punch
United States of America lawmakers have sharply contradicted the Nigerian government’s position on the ongoing massacres in the country, describing the violence as “escalating,” “targeted,” and overwhelmingly directed at Christians during a rare joint congressional briefing on Tuesday.
The closed-door session – convened by House Appropriations, Vice Chair Mario Díaz-Balart, as part of a Trump-ordered investigation – examined recent killings and what Congress calls Abuja’s “deeply inadequate” response.
President Trump has asked lawmakers, led by Reps. Riley Moore and Tom Cole, to compile a report on persecution of Nigerian Christians and has even floated the possibility of U.S. military action against Islamist groups responsible for the attacks.
At the briefing, Vicky Hartzler, chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, warned that “religious freedom [is] under siege” in Nigeria, citing mass abductions of schoolchildren and assaults in which “radical Muslims kill entire Christian villages [and] burn churches.” She said abuses were “rampant” and “violent,” claiming Christians are targeted “at a 2.2 to 1 rate” compared with Muslims.
While acknowledging Nigeria’s recent move to reassign 100,000 police officers from VIP protection, Hartzler said the country is entering a “coordinated and deeply troubling period of escalated violence.” She urged targeted sanctions, visa bans, asset freezes and tighter conditions on U.S. aid, insisting Abuja must retake villages seized from Christian communities so displaced widows and children can return home.
The strongest rebuke came from Dr. Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations, who dismissed Abuja’s narrative that the killings are not religiously motivated. He called the idea that extremists attack Muslims and Christians equally a “myth,” stressing the groups operate “for one reason and one reason only: religion.” Higher Muslim casualty figures, he argued, reflect geography, not equal targeting.
Obadare described Boko Haram as fundamentally anti-democratic and accused the Nigerian military of being “too corrupt and incompetent” to defeat jihadist networks without external pressure. He urged Washington to push Nigeria to disband armed religious militias, confront security-sector corruption and respond swiftly to early warnings.
Sean Nelson of ADF International called Nigeria “the deadliest country in the world for Christians,” claiming more Christians are killed there than in all other countries combined and at a rate “five times” higher than Muslims when adjusted for population. He said extremists also kill Muslims who reject violent ideologies, undermining Abuja’s argument that the crisis is driven mainly by crime or communal disputes.
He pressed for tighter oversight on U.S. aid, recommending that some assistance be routed through faith-based groups to avoid corruption. Without “transparency and outside pressure,” he said, “nothing changes.”
Díaz-Balart criticised the Biden administration’s reversal of Trump’s designation of Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” in 2021, saying the decision had “clearly deadly consequences.” Lawmakers from the Appropriations, Foreign Affairs and Financial Services committees signaled further oversight actions as they prepare the Trump-directed report.
Hartzler pointed to recent comments by Nigeria’s Speaker of the House acknowledging a “coordinated and deeply troubling period of escalated violence,” calling it a rare moment of candor. She also welcomed the redeployment of police officers as “a promising start after years of neglect.”
But she stressed that these gestures are far from sufficient, insisting the Nigerian government must demonstrate a real commitment to “quell injustice,” act swiftly on early warnings, and embrace transparency.
The Nigerian Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to source.
