Members of the Edo State Civil Society of Organisations (EDOSCO) on Tuesday staged a protest against the claim by the management of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) that it had distributed 190, 000 meters to customers in the state.
The group who protested around the city centre, alleged that the claim by the utility company was false.
The Spokesperson and President of EDOSCO, Mr Omobude Agho, accused the Managing Director of the BEDC, Mrs Funke Osibodu, of taking customers in states where it operates: Edo, Delta, Ekiti and Ondo, for granted, in discharging its duties.
They called on the Federal Government to ensure that it withdraws the operational licence of the power distribution firm over poor performance and abysmal failure to meet targets and the needs of its consumers in Edo.
Agho noted that no new meters have been installed among residents in the state, contrary to the claim by the management of BEDC.
The EDOSCO chief described the management of BEDC as a “frustrated, rejected and dejected” body and challenged it to tell Edo people where it had supplied the huge number of meters’’.
Agho insisted that there was no going back on the December 2019 terminal date for the federal government to withdraw the licence of the firm.
According to him, in any country where there is no electricity, corruption and crime will not be on the decline.
NAN reports that the group protested with placards with various inscriptions such as: “No going back on December deadline, Ekiti, Ondo, Edo and Delta people reject BEDC’’; “BPE has compromised, BEDC has failed woefully’’.
The management of BEDC had on Monday kicked against the planned protest (Tuesday) by members of EDOSCO.
The CSOs are demanding for the federal government’s action to withdraw the license of the electricity distribution company over its alleged poor performance in service delivery.
The BEDC executive director (Commercial), Dr Abu Ejoor, had expressed displeasure over the proposed protest by members of EDOSCO targeted at dissuading the federal government from renewal of the company’s licence which they claimed would expire by December, this year.
He had described the protest as a disturbance to public peace.
Ejoor stated this during the media presentation of the Edo State Meter Asset Provider (MAP) Scheme and updates on operations of the firm, held at its headquarters in Benin on Monday.
He urged BEDC customers to disregard the protest as “a deliberate misrepresentation as there was no expiration of the company’s operating licence in December, as alleged by the group.
The executive director recalled that the Director-General of the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) had declared in 2018 that there was no ongoing licence renewal for any of the eleven distribution companies nationwide.
He explained that the licenses issued to BEDC and the other discos was for a 15-year period, with a renewal extension for another 10 years, after its expiration.
According to Ejoor, the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) which handles all matters relating to licensing, duly recognises BEDC as the electricity service provider for Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti states.
“We are presently in court with them on two cases. BEDC took some suspects, including EDOSCO members to a Federal High Court in Benin in March 2017, for alleged tampering with electrical fittings.
Ejoor urged its customers to note that the power sector improvement process is a journey and not a race and that with their collective support and prompt payment of bills and honoring other obligations, electricity supply shall improve considerably nationwide.
