…refute claims of threats to IBEDC staff’s lives
The Ajibode-Apete-Awotan-Araromi and Environs Community Development Association in Ibadan, Oyo State, has condemned what it described as unjust and vindictive, the power supply blackout by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), which has caused untold hardship on residents.
At a press conference held at De Aces Hotel in Apete on Thursday, the president of the association, Engr Rasak Fabayo, told journalists that the blackout was in retaliation for the peaceful protest staged by members of the community at the IBEDC office in Apete on May 10.
He explained how the community members, acting within their constitutional rights in the presence and under the protection of police and civil defence officers, registered their long-standing grievance over the epileptic power supply and lack of service delivery by IBEDC for several years despite numerous complaints.
“Instead of addressing the issues raised, IBEDC responded in the most draconian and retaliatory manner: they disconnected the entire Ajibode, Apete, Awotan, Araromi and Environs from electricity supply, throwing thousands of homes, businesses and students, especially from the University of Ibadan and The Polytechnic, Ibadan into darkness.
“They shut down their Apete office, thereby cutting off the only access point for residents to lodge complaints, resolve billing issues and engage with its officials,” Fabayo said.
He stated that the most disturbing was IBEDC’s spread of false claims in the media and public spaces that it shut down its office as a result of threats to staff’s lives.
Debunking the claims, the association president emphatically said that there was no violence, threat or attack during the peaceful protest, which was monitored by security agents and marked with civility.
The association viewed the disconnection and subsequent spread of falsehood as a calculated attempt to blackmail the communities, avoid accountability and punish innocent residents for exercising their civic rights.
Fabayo noted: “This action by IBEDC not only violates the principles of fairness and customer protection, but also runs foul of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) customer protection regulations.”
The association listed its eight-point demands, which included immediate reconnection of power supply to the communities concerned, public retraction of false claims of threats against IBEDC staff, as well as reopening of Apete office, resumption of services and restoration of customers’ access.
Others are a full investigation into the actions of IBEDC officials at Apete who were responsible for the disconnection, sanctions and regulatory penalties for erring staff, completion and activation of NIPP infrastructure for the benefit of affected communities, immediate cessation of selective connection and diversion of NIPP feeder to privileged individuals to the detriment of the larger community and a structured stakeholders’ dialogue between IBEDC leadership and representatives of the communities.
It also urged all regulatory bodies, especially NERC, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), and the Minister of Power, to take steps to investigate the matter presented and hold IBEDC accountable.
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