Edo CSOs Shutdown Benin Disco Hqtr, Alleging High Handedness

Edo CSOs Shutdown Benin Disco Hqtr, Alleging High Handedness

Members of the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Edo State today shut down the headquarters of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), attributing their reason to the manner the management of BEDC treat electricity consumers in Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti States where they operates for the past three years.

During the protest which lasted for several hours, the groups raised the issue of estimated and outrageous electricity bills, deliberate non supply of pre-paid meters, high handedness, disrespect for customers, coercion of communities to procure equipment and the use of military personnel to escort some white expatriates who work with the power company, and in turn brutalise customers.

Consequently, no staff of the company was allowed to gain entry into their offices as the protesters started early in order to block the entrance before resumption of work.

Trouble began for BEDC when it disconnected one Mr. Innocent Okpara power at Ekae business district over non-payment of electricity bills which he had contested overtime and waited for the power company to issue him bills based on his actual consumptions.

THISDAY gathered that Okpara resisted his disconnection by holding onto his service cable when the Indian expatriate working with BEDC ordered the military personnel attached to him to brutalise him for daring to request for his service wires.

Speaking to journalists, Public Relations Officer of the CSOs, Osaze Edigin, said since then, Okpara has taken steps to pay part of the bills and demanded that he should be reconnected pending the resolution of his  under contention.

"It is very unfortunate that the management of BEDC has demanded that before he is reconnected, he must first withdraw his petitions against the company and the expatriate that ordered his beating by military personnel. We have viewed this as oppression and intimidation of the highest order and have vowed to state that if this is the last vestige of colonialism to overthrow, we shall fight it with the last drop of our blood even if the federal government refuses to take steps. These other activities of BEDC against the people have reached the highest point of inhumanity that requires our collective voice to demand the revocation of the licence of BEDC which should be taken over for a more competent firm for happiness of us all.

"Edo State CSOs in 2016, through their lawyer, Toluwani Adebiyi, had secured a judgment against the 11 Distribution Companies (Discos) across the country and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to the effect that there should be a reversal of tariff because the process of increment did not pass through legal procedures, they have since refused to obey the court judgment, a situation that made the activists to stop paying the illegal tariff,” Edigin stated.

The human rights group had in their last General Assembly meeting resolved to resume payment of bills commensurate to what they consume monthly.

"The last is yet to be heard as we have declared this phase of the struggle as Festival of Protests until the federal government revokes the licence of BEDC whose operations have caused a lot of hardship for businesses and individuals and discontentment across their coverage areas.

"We will not rest in this struggle until Okpara is connected back to the network," he declared.

But in his interaction with journalists in Benin-city, BEDC Public Affairs Manager, Mr. Tayo Adekunle, accused the group members of bypassing the prepaid meters in their houses, and when caught, they would resort to all forms of blackmail against the company.

Adekunle who denied the use of military against the order of the company expatriate, also noted that as a condition for peace, members of the CSO in the state told management of BEDC to exclude them from payment of electricity bill.