Professionals across different fields have expressed satisfaction towards the 10% Staff salary increase by Kaduna Electric.
Expressing their thoughts in a shift reaction towards the Salary increase, two LinkedIn users, Etedjere David Senior Commercial Expert, said “This is highly commendable, well-done to the great leadership team. While Yekini Tunde, a Project Manager, said, this is a good initiative.
Kaduna Electric officially announced a 10% increase in salaries across all staff categories, effective this month, DR. Umar Hashidu, the Chief Executive Officer, made this announcement during a recent meeting with the management team.
According to Umar, the salary adjustment comes as a strategic response to the imperative of motivating the staff, aimed at elevating the company’s overall performance despite the considerable challenges its currency faces. Dr. Hashidu underscored that the decision also addresses the prevalent cost of living crisis in the country.
The Kaduna Electric boss noted that the increase in salary of staff across all levels becomes necessary in the light of the current and prevailing economic challenges, and would spur the staff into doing more for the organization.
He said, the Board and Management’s conviction that this salary increase serves as a catalyst, inspiring staff to redouble their efforts to navigate the company through its current challenges. Reiterating the Board’s unwavering commitment to prioritizing staff welfare as highlighted by the Board’s Chairperson, MS Rahila Thomas, when she led other Board members on a visit to the Company recently. He hinted that this initial adjustment is part of a broader initiative.
Dr. Hashidu acknowledged the precarious state of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), describing it as being on life support, notably, Kaduna Electric faces challenges in meeting market obligations and has shown a lack-luster performance in compliance with NERC performance indices.
Despite these challenges, Dr. Hashidu expressed confidence that the issues confronting Kaduna Electric are surmountable with collective effort. He urged all staff members to approach their duties with diligence, citing the positive growth trajectory observed in energy sales during January as a promising indicator. Dr. Hashidu encouraged staff to maintain this momentum until the company achieves a positive turnaround.
Expressing a divergent view about the said increase, Ayodeji Obisanya, the Chairman National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) said, “How much is a 10% increase in the current economic situation? Let’s say you earn N90,000 in a month, the 10% increase is 9000 can that buy a quarter of rice? he queried.
Recall that last month, TechEconomy reported that Kaduna Electric started the process of N110bn Debt Recovery on February 1st, 2024.
Nigeria, has 11 power distribution companies, but some are struggling to remain profitable because of lack of capital and sub-economic tariffs imposed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc (Kaduna Electric) is one of successor companies created following the privatization of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in 2013 and sells electricity in four northern states.
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