KADUNA ELECTRIC FRONTLINE AUGUST EDITION

 We Must Learn to Put the Interest of the Company First -Abdulrahman Zayyad

CCD: You have been an Area Manager for over 6 months, what can you say are your achievements so far and what are the challenges?

Zayyad: I have been an Area Manager for eight months now; I had brief stint at Tatatan Mafara before I was transferred to Kawo AO where I have been since January this year. My modest achievement as an Area manager among others are:

a.     I have managed to change the perception of customers on the issue of protection of our installation; most of our customers within my jurisdiction are now taking ownership of such installations; they now refuse to use unauthorized personnel in conducting illegal activity within our network, whistle blowing; i.e. reporting customers that are not captured/ by-passing their meters.

b.     Resolving customer complaints in order to convert average paying customers to clear their outstanding by opting into the ongoing CCG promo.

c.      Total overhaul of 33KV NAF feeder that was consistently going out on fault where we;

i.                   Replaced 19NOS pot insulators

ii.                 Replaced weak conductors

iii.              Serviced 33KV outdoor breaker

iv.              Replacing the insulating oil of the breaker

d.     Replacement of overcurrent and earth fault protective relay on 11kv Zaria control panel

e.      Comprehensive test of T2 transformer.

f.       Replacement of faulty overcurrent and earth fault protective relay on 33KV Igabi leg breaker at 2x 7.5 MVA 33/11kv jaji injection substation.

g.     Replacement of 11KV circuit breaker on katabu feeder at 2 x 7.5 MVA 33/11KV katabu injection substation

h.     Servicing of 3 NOS 33kv Current Transformer at 1 x 15MVA 33/11KV U/Dosa Injection Substation.

CCD: Can you breakdown in details the performance of the Area Office in the last 6 months?

Zayyad: The Area Office has made steady progress in critical areas of the business; we have impacted positively in service delivery and made improvement in revenue generation. The average performance of Kawo AO in the last 6 months are as follows;

a.     Our total collection for the last 6 months is   N838,288,197.50 with 96,839 responses

b.     Our CCG promo amounted to N8,894,193.00 with 79 responses

c.      We have received 886 number of complaints of which 777 were resolved within the expected time.

d.     We have recorded zero fatality in our operations.

e.      We have cleared 258 faults on both the 33 and 11KV lines in the last 6 months.

CCD: As foot soldier of the Company, why do you think we are finding it so difficult in meeting our target – reducing ATC&C loses to acceptable level?

Zayyad: Rising from the position of sales representative to Service Centre Manager and now as an Area Manager, I have the following points to state why target is not met;

i.       Customer apathy: Customers do not care about the obligations of the company and tend to pay amount they feel comfortable in paying and tend to fault the economic hardship as reason why they embark on this.

Meter by-pass is so rampant that most customers now request for meter just to by-pass it.

ii. NON_CHALLANT ATTITUDE TOWARDS WORK: Staff tend not to put in their best when engaging on their daily activities, not minding the implication of their action or inaction on the company’s drive.

CCD: You were a labor activist before your appointment as Area manager, how are you managing the two seemingly conflicting roles?

Zayyad:The role of a unionist is to ensure the welfare of staff is been taken care of and the obligation of every staff is been met by every employee, the role of an Area Manager is to ensure that every staff has met with his/her KPIs and also ensure it is in accordance with the condition of service provided by the company and also ensure that the well-being of every staff is taken care of. Based on this, I wouldn’t say the roles are conflicting, one just compliments the other ideally.

CCD: What is your message to the staff having experienced both sides of leadership (as a Unionist and a manager)?

Zayyad: Putting the Interest of the Company and people 1^st! We must all key into the Vision and Mission statement of the Company. Leadership is not about one office or a handful of offices; it is about taking responsibility in whatever position one find himself or herself.

CCD: With the benefit of hindsight, is there anything you did in the past that you will do otherwise if similar situation present itself today?

Zayyad:In 2016, I was made to send list of staff from my service centre (ISA KAITA) for transfer, I was made to believe they need the good hands so that they can boost the collection of the Service centre they are going to be posted, unfortunately one my best staff was terminated for poor performance, If I am given an opportunity to undo that, I will undo it.

CCD: Who is Abdulrahman Zayyad and what brings out the best in him?

Zayyad:Abdulrahman Zayyad is a young man who hails from Rafindadi in Katsina State, I was born in Katsina and raised in Kaduna. I attended the famous Ahmadu Bello University where I acquired my BSc Degree and Postgraduate Diploma Certificates.

I joined Kaduna Electric in September, 2015 where I began my carrier as a Sales Representative, I rose to the position of Service Centre Manager in February 2016, I managed ISA KAITA feeder from FEB. 2016- AUG. 2017, ASIKOLAYE SC FROM AUG 2017- MAR 2018, GOVERNMENT HOUSE FEEDER FROM MAR 2018- DEC 2019, I was then transferred to MD UNIT in JAN 2019 – DEC 2020.

I applied for the position of Area Manager in 2020, I was appointed as AREA MANAGER TALATA MAFARA in DECEMBER 2021 and was transferred to KAWO AREA OFFICE in January 2021.

As the youngest Area Manager, I believe it is one of the things that brings out the best in me; I love challenging responsibilities.