Ibom Power workers battle eight months without pay

Idongesit Mishael

More than 120 workers of Ibom Power Company are facing mounting financial hardship after going more than eight months without regular salaries, as the state-owned power plant remains largely inactive amid a prolonged gas-supply crisis.

The hardship has been compounded by the reported loss of a senior management staff member and the deaths of the spouses of two other employees, leaving families struggling with medical bills, school fees, rent and other basic expenses.

Sources familiar with the situation said the senior staff member died during the period of the crisis, with the funeral held in May 2026. The spouses of two other employees subsequently died after reported health-related illnesses.

The sources, however, did not establish any direct link between the deaths and the company’s financial difficulties. Rather, they described the deaths against a backdrop of prolonged financial strain, limited access to healthcare and the inability of some workers to meet rising household expenses.

One source said many employees had resorted to loans and other forms of borrowing to survive after their salaries stopped coming regularly.

“People have been surviving on loans for months,” the source said, adding that workers had continued to hope that the company would resume electricity generation and recover enough revenue to settle its obligations.

That hope has been repeatedly tested by the prolonged shutdown and intermittent operation of the plant at Ikot Abasi.

An on-the-spot assessment by VVCWatch at the facility showed a power-generation asset whose current condition contrasts with its strategic importance to Akwa Ibom’s electricity plans.

Ibom Power has about 100 megawatts of available generation capacity, but the plant has operated intermittently over the past year, with gas supply identified as the immediate obstacle to sustained generation.

Persons familiar with the company’s operations said the situation worsened in August 2025 after its gas supplier stopped supplying the plant.

Since then, brief periods of generation have provided only temporary relief for the workers.

One source said that when the plant generated electricity for about three days in November 2025, the company used part of the proceeds to begin paying October salaries in instalments.

Further periods of generation in February, May and June 2026 reportedly enabled management to make additional salary payments, but were insufficient to clear the accumulated arrears.

The situation has effectively tied the workers’ ability to receive salaries to the plant’s ability to generate electricity and earn revenue.

Whenever the plant generates, part of the proceeds reportedly goes towards settling gas-related obligations, leaving limited funds for salaries and other operational expenses.

The result, according to the sources, is a cycle in which the company needs gas to generate revenue, while the workers need their salaries to survive.

The crisis comes as Akwa Ibom is seeking to assume greater responsibility for its electricity sector.

The administration of Governor Umo Eno has introduced an electricity policy, enacted a state electricity law and established the Akwa Ibom State Electricity Regulatory Commission as part of efforts to develop a functional state electricity market and improve power supply.

But the condition of Ibom Power presents a significant challenge to those ambitions, particularly if one of the state’s key generation assets cannot maintain regular production.

For the affected workers, however, the immediate concern is less about regulation and more about survival.

They are calling for government intervention to clear the salary arrears and help create the financial conditions required to restore gas supply and restart sustained generation.

A source said any intervention should go beyond paying outstanding salaries, arguing that restoring gas supply would enable the company to resume generation, earn revenue and improve its capacity to meet its obligations.

The workers’ predicament also reflects wider financial pressures in Nigeria’s electricity sector, where generation companies have faced payment shortfalls in the electricity market while gas suppliers have demanded stronger payment guarantees.

Ibom Power has also reportedly faced substantial outstanding payments for electricity generated in previous years. The state government has separately intervened in the settlement of a legacy debt owed to Afreximbank.

Although the government has reportedly made payments towards the Afreximbank obligation, the intervention has not resolved the immediate challenges of securing gas supply, sustaining generation and meeting the company’s recurrent financial obligations.

For the workers, the consequences are personal.

Months without regular salaries have affected their ability to pay rent, provide food, meet school expenses and respond to medical emergencies. The reported discontinuation of the company’s Health Maintenance Organisation subscription has further increased the financial burden on employees and their dependants.

The deaths within the wider circle of affected families have added an emotional dimension to an already difficult situation, although no evidence presented by the sources establishes that the financial crisis caused those deaths.

The employees say they have continued to endure the hardship while waiting for the plant to resume sustained generation and for their accumulated salaries to be paid.

Their demands are straightforward: payment of the outstanding salaries, restoration of healthcare support, reliable gas supply and the revival of Ibom Power’s generating capacity.

Until those issues are addressed, the crisis at Ikot Abasi will remain more than an electricity-generation problem. For the workers and their families, it is a prolonged struggle over income, healthcare and basic economic security.