14 August 201 Sapele—Most parts of Delta State have been thrown into darkness as over 300 former workers of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, took over the premises of Eurafric Power Company, EPC, and the Benin Electricity Distribution Company, BEDC, new owners of Sapele Power Plc, SPP, and Sapele Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, respectively.
At the Eurafric Power Company in Ogorode, Sapele, the former workers, led by Benson Okorodudu, Joseph Ndem and Nwosu Okechuku, who are demanding for salary arrears, have since Wednesday barricaded the gate, locking out the company’s workers, thus grounding the operations of the company.
At BEDC, in AT&P axis also in Sapele, formers workers barricaded and locked out the company’s workers.Lamenting the brutalisation of its workers, BEDC’s Corporate Affairs Officer, Mr. Oarhe Evbotokha, and the Business Manager, Engr. Orhukpe Agbomerele, said: “One Omasan led over 20 armed thugs to our premises and halted our operations.
“They wounded our Senior Distribution Manager, Engr. Ayeni Ojo, and one of his linesmen, who was on routine check of our transformers. The victims are in critical condition at the Sapele General Hospital.”
Meanwhile, Managing Director of Eurafric, Mrs Heatrher Onoh, who spoke to Vanguard on phone from Abuja, implored the enraged former workers not to harm the company workers, most of whom had fled the premises at press time.
She said: “We took over an empty treasury and zero generation, yet, so far, we have increased generation to about 150Mw before the former workers halted our operations.
“They should give us some time to pay their entitlements.” –
– Vanguard