Protesting youths from Ososo, Ojah, Ijiranmi and other communities in the Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State on Thursday said the eight-month power outage in the area had crippled economic activities and stalled development in the affected communities.
The protesters stated this when they staged a protest at the Edo State Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Power in Benin.
The protesters, carrying placards with various inscriptions, decried the prolonged blackout.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Bernard Gomina said the protest was to draw the attention of the authorities to the hardship being endured by residents of the affected communities.
According to him, the communities had been without electricity for about eight months despite interventions by community leaders and the member representing Akoko-Edo II Constituency, Hon. Donald Okogbe.
“This protest is meant to bring our plight to the public as we have not enjoyed electricity for eight months. Businesses and commercial activities have been badly affected,” he added.
Another protester, who gave his name as Abayomi, alleged that the communities had contributed huge sums of money to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) on several occasions for the repair of faulty equipment, but the issues remained unresolved.
He also lamented the payment of outrageous estimated bills for the epileptic supply they received before the outage and called for an alternative power distribution company if BEDC was finding it difficult to meet their needs.
Meanwhile, Donald Okogbe, who joined the protesters at the commission, said the people were frustrated by the prolonged outage.
Okogbe stated that the affected communities cut across the two state constituencies in the local government, adding that the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Yekini Idaiye, who represents Akoko-Edo I, would have joined them but had other engagements.
He said it had become necessary to consider an alternative arrangement if BEDC could no longer provide reliable power, and appealed to the commission to explore the possibility of removing the affected communities from BEDC’s coverage.
He stressed that power was essential for economic growth and the wellbeing of the people, urging the authorities to treat the matter as an emergency.
Responding, the Chief Executive Officer of Edo SEBCO commended the protesters for their peaceful conduct and assured them that efforts were underway to address the situation.
He disclosed that the head of the technical team for the area was already on site and assured the protesters that power supply would be restored by Saturday.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Edo State Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr Shittu Shaibu, assured the lawmaker and the protesters that the commission was aware of the situation and was working to resolve it.
Also, the Commissioner for Power, Paul Osenbo, who addressed the protesters at his office, advised them to submit a memo detailing their complaints.
He said the ministry was aware of the challenges confronting consumers across the state and assured them that the issues would be addressed.
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