With the expiration of its 21-day ultimatum and no concrete action taken by the Federal Government to address its concerns, the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) has started mobilising its members for a nationwide strike.

Mobilising its members across the Nigerian electricity supply industry (NESI), NUEE warned of possible total action that could cripple electricity generation and distribution nationwide.

On January 26, 2026, the union wrote a letter to the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, alerting him to a planned nationwide strike.

The union accused power sector employers, particularly distribution companies (DISCOs) and generation companies (GENCOs), of widespread anti-labour practices, wage violations and failure to remit deducted pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) taxes and pension contributions.

Sources in the union disclosed that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Dingyadi, waded into the dispute and summoned a meeting penultimate week.

But the Minister of Power insisted that the matter fell within his purview and should be handled accordingly.

The union has expressed frustration that, nearly three weeks after that development, the power ministry has not convened a meeting.

The workers alleged that the minister has been preoccupied with political engagements rather than addressing the looming crisis in the sector.

Angered by what they described as government inaction, the union’s leadership, in a notice, said it has intensified the mobilisation of workers across power stations and distribution networks nationwide in preparation for a possible strike.

“We demand the immediate resolution of all these anti-labour issues. Otherwise, we will not hesitate to take any legitimate labour action appropriate to the situation. This is not a threat,” the notice warned.

In a letter, NUEE’s Acting General Secretary, Igwebike Dominic, lamented what it described as worsening conditions for workers, more than 12 years after the privatisation of the power sector.

“We have written several letters to your highly exalted office on precarious work in NESI, especially in GenCos and DisCos, since the privatisation of the electricity sector, but the ministry seems not to be interested in the matter,” the letter stated.

The union accused employers in the sector of refusing to negotiate and implement collective agreements and conditions of service, as well as failing to implement the 2025 National Minimum Wage Act and its consequential adjustments.