Arising from a strategic meeting held penultimate week that lasted for 5 hours (between 12 midnight and 5am) by the various components of Edo Civil Society Organisations, an organised network of civil rights groups in Edo state to deliberate and review the activities of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company in their coverage four states.
The scorecard of BEDC revealed a total failure of the Funke Osibudu led management over the years of taking over from defunct PHCN under the federal Government privatisation agenda. Edo people have been subjected to all manner of sufferings from the operations and activities of BEDC in service delivery. The people cannot take it any longer going by the series of petitions received by EDOCSO within the period under review.
Among their many sins are enumerated below and not limited to the following:
1. BEDC managed by Vigeo Power Limited is a lawless company and does not respect decisions of NERC and court orders. Only recently a court slammed it with a N10m compensation to a customer whom the NERC forum had already decided its case but BEDC went ahead to arrest him with the police while the matter subsisted in court.
2. It uses police to harass customers in debt recovery.
3. It uses military personnel attached to some white foreigners working with it to abuse the human rights of citizens who are their customers over little issues as protests by communities when they get disconnected without due process and for debt recovery.
4. BEDC management is fond of accusing a whole community of owing and putting them in darkness until the amount alleged to be owed is fully paid, whereas it is a case of few individuals owing because prepaid meter owners cannot be said to be owing rather it is the other way round.
5. Refusal to supply meters so as to further exploit citizens with outrageous estimated billing.
6. BEDC will never replace a faulty transformer or bad poles. Communities and individuals are forced to buy these items themselves and BEDC compelling the purchasers to say it is a donation to BEDC if they want them connected.
7. Customer service is very poor and discouraging.
8. Poor remunerations for the inadequate staff.
9. High handedness of Funke Osibudu on mild issues.
10. Operation of special lines with up to 24 hours supply to some customers while a majority of their customers barely enjoy three hours of constant supply daily.
11. Rejection of loads from transmission thereby leading to total blackouts in communities.
Edo Civil Society Organisations shall be mobilizing the people to launch a massive and protracted protests against the renewal of BEDC licence both in Edo state and in Abuja. President Buhari attention must be drawn to the activities of BEDC that has given the government a poor performance in the power sector. President Buhari must not renew their operational licence as they lack the financial and technical know-how in the business of power distribution.
THE ACTION IS TAGGED ‘PROTEST THUNDERSTORMS’.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH OF BEDC.
BEDC LICENCE MUST NOT BE RENEWED!
Comrade Osazee Edigin
Public Relations Officer
Edo Civil Society Organisations
28A, Erie Street,
Off Sokponba Road,
Benin City,
Edo State,
Nigeria.
