Posted by Small business owners in Taraba State are in a state of panic since the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) has decided to participate in the planned nationwide strike action.
The nationwide strike of Nigerian employees is set to begin on Tuesday in an effort to bring attention to their demands.
Some small company owners voiced alarm to BANKPAWA on Sunday about the planned strike, saying that they feared power interruptions might temporarily put them out of business.
They demanded that the federal government take immediate action to end the strike.
A vulcanizer by the name of Usman Ali once observed that whenever two elephants fight, the grass is the one that takes the biggest hit.
He claims that the general public is usually hurt when workers go on strike.
‘Some of us will have to spend our small reserves in acquiring fuel to run our enterprises,’ he said, voicing concern about the potential impact of a strike.
Jamilu Sunday, who works as a handset repairer, said he would have to close his business if workers went on strike.
I’ve decided to close up shop as soon as I see that people in charge of the power supply have joined the strike since I can’t afford to use gasoline to run my little business, he explained.
Earlier, in a statement, the NUEE’s leadership had ordered all of its members across the country to join forces with the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to shut down the country beginning on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.
Members were urged to “totally withdraw our services and participate in the street protests and rallies until the government responded to our demands,” according to a statement signed by interim Secretary General Dominic Igwebike.