22nd January, 2015
Cyriacus Izuekwe
The residents of Agbedo Oke-Odo and Egbe Idimu Local Council Development Area, LCDA, in Alimosho, Lagos State, western Nigeria, have asked the electricity company serving the areas to withdraw its services as they are no longer interested in their poor performance.
They mandated the landlords and tenants living in those areas not to pay their electricity bills and if the electricity company likes, it should take their transformers and cables away from the areas.
The angry residents said they came to that decision after reviewing the services they were getting from electricity supply company, adding that it was cheaper to buy petrol for their generators than pay crazy bills every month and at the same time buy petrol for their generators.
Making this known during the stakeholders’ meeting organised in the area recently, the residents said the electricity company in charge of the area has subjected them to untold hardship by crippling their means of livelihood by not supplying any electricity and yet they bring outrageous bills for them to pay every month.
The coordinator of the youths in Egbe Idimu LCDA, Comrade Monsuru Shoyombo, said the youths have resolved that they would not allow the electricity workers to come to their area to disconnect and share any bills because they are not supplying them electricity.
“The residents of CDAs and LCDAs should stop paying electricity bills henceforth. Unless otherwise stated, we shall resist them from disconnecting our cables non violently. If they are not comfortable with our actions, they are free to remove their transformers. We are all tired of their supply.”
Shoyombo spoke of their frustration by electricity company in charge of their area over the years.
He said the company slams bills of between N8,000 and N10,000 every month on each flat or house even when there was no electricity supply throughout that month and if they supply electricity, it never lasted for two hours.
He said they tried to resolve issues with the company through dialogue and protest, yet there is no improvement.
“They are only interested in our money and we have resolved that enough is enough,” he said.
In Agbado Oke-Ode it was the same complaint and they decided that they are no more interested in their service and resolved not to pay any bill any longer.
Last week, residents of 23b Akintan Street, Dideolu Estate, Ogba, Lagos, decided to slug it out with the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company over what they described as crazy bills given to them by the company even when they hardly get power supply.
Many Nigerians have been complaining about such acts from the various electricity distribution companies while they witness very poor power supply.