Day residents’ association pitched Lagos community against EKEDC

Located along the Ebute Metta axis of Lagos Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State, Otumara is a shanty community housing thousands of inhabitants. They are confronted daily with challenges of poor sanitary condition and poor drainage systems, absence of potable water and lack of good access roads.

Due to the poor financial and economic status of Otumara residents, defaulting in the payment of electricity consumption bills has been a regular occurrence.

After many years of living in total blackout, Nigerian Tribune gathered that residents resolved to end the electricity crisis by drawing perceived trustworthy members of the community to form an electricity committee that would liaise with the electricity distribution company, design debt repayment plans and restore electricity to the community.

According to a long-term resident of the community and chairman, Lagos Mainland Local Government, Abiodun Fagba, the three community development associations established a nine-member electricity committee to achieve the set objectives.

He stated that in 2014 the electricity committee headed by Mr Ohunyon Prior and eight other members met with representatives of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) and signed a memorandum of understanding on the payment of the accumulated debt of N7million allegedly owed by the community.

He said members of the community’s electricity committee shared the accumulated bills to residents until it was cleared off. But the committee, according to him, allegedly had other motives.

This alleged ill-conceived agenda, Fagba said, gave birth to the incorporation of the electricity committee that was innocently established to be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission as Otumara Residents Welfare Association (ORWA) as a business entity in 2016.

Fagba disclosed to the Nigerian Tribune that the EKEDC served monthly electricity bills of N400,000 on the two electricity transformers.

He alleged that ORWA generates N3million monthly from electricity bill collection from residents and pays N200,000 on each of the transformers to the electricity distribution company.

He said: “This was the trend until we cleared all outstanding debts. But the last straw broke the camel’s back was that when we thought we had settled the backlog and we expected that individual monthly bill would be reduced, this was not the case. It kept increasing with about a building comprising eight rooms being served at least N10,000 per month.

“And members of the electricity committee assumed the status of EKEDC personnel. They serve electricity bills on residents with a notice of three days to either pay or risk disconnection.The funniest part of this is that they issue their own receipts to residents after payment.

“Every month, they rake in over N3million from electricity tariff collection and they pay just N400,000 to the distribution company on the two transformers that supply the community.

“I was in charge of community affairs in Lagos Mainland Local Government under the administration of erstwhile council chairman, Hon. Bashir Bolarinwa. It, therefore, came to me as surprise to see that the electricity committee that was constituted to tackle the electricity challenges metamorphosed into ORWA which is used to defraud the community.

“When the activities of the committee became unbearable, the CDAs reported them to the Iponri Police Station but the police were compromised.”

 

‘I was disconnected for two years for refusing to pay N3,500’

Electricity supply to Chief Eromosele, a resident was cut off electricity for two years for his refusal to pay N3,500 monthly charges.

According to him, he neither has a fan nor television set. He claimed he has only a bulb in his one-room apartment.

According to him, “At the meeting we had with the two community heads, we concluded that we want accountability. We want the self-imposed Otumara Residents Welfare Association to stop acting the role of the EKEDC. They serve outrageous bills on us and disconnect us at will.

“The tariff on the two transformers that serve the community is N400,000 but what they generate from residents is far above N3, 000,000 monthly. What are they doing with the money? We don’t know.

“I am the only person living in my apartment. I don’t have a fan neither do I have television or fridge, but they serve me N3,500 every month for using a bulb.”

Otumara, according to one of the property owners in the community, Monday Njoku has a little over 400 houses. Owners of these houses, he said, never see the monthly bill from the EKEDC.

Njoku stated that “The high monthly electricity tariff was served on us by the ORWA without showing to us the exact amount the EKEDC brought to the community. There was a time the electricity committee told us we owed the EKEDC N7million and they told each house to pay N14,000 per month, which we did. This was in 2016. We were told that as soon as we cleared the N7million debt, the monthly charges would be reduced.”

The Otumara Residents Welfare Association, Nigerian Tribune gathered, was incorporated with the Corporate Affairs Commission in 2016 with eleven appointed trustees including Ohunyon Prior, Agbede Ogundele Buraimoh, Hyagnt Ojiogu, Akintimehin Israel, Ikegun Okoronkwo, Ogwudire Kenneth, Arowojolu John, Abass Ishola and Afeez Olonisakin.

It was also gathered that two transformers which supply electricity to the community have two different accounts: 02/11/90/0515-01 and 02/11/90/0444-01, account one and two respectively.

And on these two accounts, a lump sum was owed which had since been cleared by members of the community but not without allegations of fraud and lack of accountability, which prompted landlords and residents to write a petition to the two traditional heads against members of the electricity committee.

Subsequently, the two community heads, High Chief Kehinde Kalejaiye and High Chief Arowojolu, in a letter jointly signed in March 2019 wrote to the Board of Trustees of Otumara Residents Welfare Association calling them to account for what they collected.

The letter read in part, “The entire community and the landlords have lodged a complaint about the anomaly and the lack of accountability of the Otumara Residents Welfare Association. The confidence level of the people of Otumara on the activities of the association has dropped and of those at the helm of affairs of the association.

“Hence, the two heads, CDAs and the landlords hereby summon the Board of Trustees of the association to appear on Wednesday March 6, 2019 at Arowojolu’s Palace for proper inquiry into the allegations.”

But before the appointed date, Arowojolu was attacked by unknown gunmen and Kalejaiye was threatened with death. In a petition dated March 9, 2020 and addressed to the office of the Inspector-General of Police, Zone 11, Onikan, Lagos, through his attorney, Kalejaiye alleged threat to his life.

Abass Ishola, chairman, Otumara community CDA alleged that members of ORWA defraud residents while pretending to serve them.

“What happened is that they are our people and we appointed them into the electricity committee. But at a point, they started misbehaving and not giving us feedback regarding the welfare of the community. For instance, the two community heads in Otumara community are also not aware of how they operate.

“They have assumed the position of Eko Electricity Distribution Company. They serve bill with three days payment notice, failing which they disconnect your electricity,” he said.

 

Allegations under investigation—Police

When the Nigerian Tribune contacted the Divisional Police Officer of Iponri police station for clarifications on the allegation and to explain the role of his station in the electricity saga, DPO Tajudeen Ogunlaja through a text message said, “I heard about the electricity crisis but the matter is under investigation at the AIG zone 11 office in Onikan please.”

 

There is no conspiracy of fraud between us and residents—EKEDC

Responding to the allegation of fraud and connivance against personnel of EKEDC, deputy director of the distribution company, Godwin Idemudia said there was no conspiracy of fraud between the company and any resident of the community.

According to him, the company entered into an understanding with representatives of the community to recover the debt owed by residents who refuse to pay for the energy consumed.

“The community has been paying on two accounts that are bulk metred. They went into an MoU with the company since 2017. It was signed by EKEDC management and the community’s representatives. Meanwhile, there is no conspiracy between the distribution company and residents as alleged.

“We have never had issues with the community, except for some of them who for reasons best known to them refuse to pay for energy consumed. This issue is being addressed by relevant authorities to bring the matter to an amicable and satisfactory conclusion.”

Efforts made to get one of the trustees of the controversial ORWA to speak on the allegations were unsuccessful as Mr Prior Ohunyon did not respond to calls put across to his telephone lines.

 

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