18th April, 2017
Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt
Angry customers of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) Tuesday, protested to its Aggrey road office in Port Harcourt and blocked the main entrance to the office.
The protesters who complained of inadequate power supply in their area also dropped charms at the gate.
Some of placards displayed by the protesters read: “Stop giving us estimated bills”, “Give us adequate power”, “We are not second class citizens.”
They complained of being supplied electricity for an average of three hours a day compared with other parts of the state that enjoyed up to 18 hours and above.
The leader of the protesters, Precious George, lamented that they had been in darkness and that the charm was dropped at the main entrance of PHED office to prevent entry and exit into the office until their issues are addressed.
The charms consists of red cloth, cowries, uprooted grasses and objects tied with red cloth.
In his reaction, the PHED Communications officer, John Onyi, explained that customers in the affected area enjoyed eight to nine hours of electricity daily and were billed according to what they consumed.
As at the time of filing this report, PHED officials and community leaders in the area were holding a closed-door meeting to resolve the disagreement.