In Ekiti, residents, traditional rulers, others protest uninterrupted blackout

For Ekiti communities: Ado-Ekiti, Ikere-Ekiti, Iworoko, Iyin, Ifaki, Aramoko, Erio, Omuo, Omuo-Oke, Ilasa, Ikun, Araromi, Isinbode, Eda Ile, Kota, among many others, it has been one long battle with non-supply of electricity. Sadly this has generated protests in various parts of the state with residents insisting that something drastic be done to arrest the ugly trend. SAM NWAOKO who visited these communities reports the frustrations of the residents.  

Everything points to a realisation by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) that it is not prepared for what it has found in its hands with its consumers in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital. The company has experienced a mass protest against it by angry electricity consumers in parts of Ekiti State; it has been battling with a stoic decision of its consumers in Ado Ekiti that they would pay only a flat rate of N3,100 per month; and it is currently wading through a marsh of court case.

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Beyond all these, the BEDC is now thrown into the mess of an allegation that its officials are allegedly threatening to grievously harm Dr Ibukun Ogundipe, who has turned out to be a thorn in the flesh in the quagmire that BEDC and Ado Ekiti Residents Consumers Association (ARCA) have found themselves.

 

The genesis

The residents of Ado Ekiti community, made up mainly of landlords, recently formed and registered an association named “Ado Ekiti Residents’ Consumers Association” to be able to, among other things, present a common front against the kind of electricity bills they say they receive from BEDC. The association was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and Dr Ibukun Ogundipe has been the president of the association.

Among the notable earliest actions of ARCA was an announcement of an intention to sue the BEDC over alleged billing irregularities and a notice of a street protest by its members. This was as reported on February 7th, 2018.

The landlords alleged in February, via a statement signed by Dr Ogundipe and Pastor C. O. Seye, that BEDC was cheating them by “hoarding prepaid meters  that we’re supposed to be given freely” and that the company was allegedly billing them more than they actually consumed and for electricity it’s members didn’t consume.

The body, apart from the court case and planned protest, also directed all the landlords in the state to be paying N3,000 monthly charges until the prepaid meters they said would ensure accurate reading of electricity consumed, “without people being shortchanged”, were provided.

Ogundipe and Seye said BEDC must make available to them pre-paid meters as a way to end “the seemingly endless regime of extortion and arbitrary bills being slammed on the residents of the state.”

To the outcry by homeowners and sundry consumers, in February, the Public Relations Officer of BEDC in charge of Ondo and Ekiti states, Mr Kayode Ilori Brown, said the company was not circumventing the regulations of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on electricity distribution, saying “the prepaid meters at our disposal had been allocated appropriately.”

Brown said: “You can’t hoard what you don’t have. We have exhausted what we have received so far to the targeted categories.

“The NERC instructed us to give the prepaid to industrialists first, then the prime areas and the residential buildings, in that order.

“So industrialists have benefitted and I know those complaining are the house owners and they will get their soon, they should just bear with us.”

But on March 24th, the members of the association made real their threat of a “massive” street protest. Many were initially not sure how the association would organise and coordinate the heterogenous Ado Ekiti landlords and home owners. But it turned out to be a successful, well organised peaceful street protest against what many of the angry consumers described as “outrageous and excessive bills which the BEDC serves the people every month.”

During the protest rally, which had a music band in tow, the Ado Ekiti home owners harped on the issues earlier raised in their February statement and went on to list some activities allegedly perpetrated by the electricity distribution company, which they rejected.

Led by their President  Dr Ogundipe, they alleged that BEDC was “deliberately hoarding the prepaid meters which were to be given out free.” They also claimed that “this was done purposely to cheat the consumers so that they can keep bringing their concocted, outrageous bill of electricity we did not use.”

In reaction to the March protests, during which the landlords had marched from Okeyinmi area of Ado Ekiti to mass at the BEDC office at Ajilosun, the Ado Ekiti Business Manager of BEDC, Mr. Johnson Adewolu and Ilori Brown described it as “uncalled for”. They said it was “uncalled for because some of our consumers were calling to commend us for the regular supply of electricity to their areas.”

According Adewolu, the company was “losing average of N100million monthly because the electricity supplied to us is N264 million but we are receiving about N128million from consumers.”

Also speaking on the protest day, Mr. Ilori Kayode-Brown, said “we say no to their demand to pay N3,000 monthly because there is no electricity of N3,000 in this dispensation.”

On their allegation that BEDC was hoarding prepaid meters, Brown, who said the protest was “a surprise to the company”, explained that “you can’t hoard what is not available, besides the Federal Government said we should give prepaid meter for free, so what’s the sense in hoarding it?”

The BEDC PRO in Ondo and Ekiti States added in reaction to the “Greta march in March” thus: “We have over 100,000 consumers in Ekiti and they can’t all get the meters at the same time. We have completed the installation of meters for our maximum demand customers, now we are on the prime consumers after which we would start with non-maximum demand consumers, where most of our consumers fall.”

Brown pleaded with the protesters to see reason with the BEDC and said: “BEDC is a responsible company and we can’t cheat our customers. We have got their demands and the management will seek audience with them and resolve the matter amicably.”

 

Glimpses from the recent past

The controversies surrounding electricity supply and billing had led to many angry street protests against the BEDC in the past. Some of the protests, recorded in parts of Ekiti State over the years, had been violent, destructive and in many cases counter-productive.

In the last four years for instance, there have been protests in Ikere-Ekiti in Ikere Local government Area; Iworoko and Iyin communities in Irepodun/Ifelodun Local Government Area; Ifaki in Ido/Osi Local Government Area; Aramoko and Erio in Ekiti West Local Government Area. There were no reports of protests in communities in Ekiti East Local Government Area namely Omuo, the headquarters of the council area; Omuo-Oke, Ilasa, Ikun, Araromi, Isinbode, Eda Ile, Kota where people lived without public power supply for one year. But an indigene of Omuo, Mr Adegbuyi Ayodele, raised the alarm when he said it clocked one year in which the communities were without public power supply.

Adegbuyi Ayodele, who raised his concern in February 2017, said then that the only semblance of electricity in Omuo was “when the street light in the town powered with electricity generating sets are switched on.”

Speaking on Sunday, Adegbuyi said “even up till now, there’s still no electricity in the entire Ekiti East Local Government Area.” According to him, he said he learnt that “since the emergence of private distribution companies, they removed Ekiti East from where the supply came from but we had electricity for only some time. As we speak, there’s not electricity there and we were made to understand that they want to connect us to another place. So even now, there is still no electricity one year after in Ekiti East.”

BEDC, in reaction to the Ekiti East outage, explained that they were on Kogi before now “at the terminal end of Kogi Feeder and before it gets to them the voltage drops.” But now, they had been removed from there and contract for the extension of Omu Aran to them is ongoing. “So, they should exercise patience,” Ilori Brown stated.

Some of the protests had led to the destruction of BEDC property, including the beating up of electricity officials by angry protesters. In the protesting communities and at those where BEDC personnel were beaten and injured, the company withdrew its services and thereby threw the such communities into darkness for months on end.

Some other communities have also protested through some other means, including letters, representation and meetings; and peaceful rallies. They had raised their concerns at various times, after having endured prolonged power outages. They’ve all endured lengthy power cut at different times, with most of the cases bordering on power outages, bills and vandalism.

The Iworoko protest was violent, and the extent of damage to public and BEDC property during the electricity riots was because there are very many youths, especially Ekiti State Unuversity (EKSU) students in the community.

When Iyin-Ekiti community protested on June 10, 2015, their monarch, the Oluyin, Oba Ademola Ajakaye, a retired Chief Judge, was in the vanguard of the protest, as he sent one of his high chiefs, the Odofinyin, Simon Ayodeji Esan. It was the same issue of claims of near non-existent power supply and alleged billing for power not consumed.

However, what many saw as the height of the protests was witnessed on Wednesday, August 12, 2015 at Aramoko-Ekiti. The mass protest of the entire community people was led by their traditional ruler, the Alara, Oba Olu Adeyemi. The tension was so high that the then deputy governor of the state, Professor Kolapo Olubunmi Olusola, had to promptly wade in to avert its degeneration.

The protest extended to the nearby Erio community, where there were also barricades that prevented travellers to and from Ekiti State from moving.

It was a massive protest that grounded the entire stretch of Aramoko – Erio Road. There were barricades and mass of people on the major road leading out of the state.

The Alara, Oba Adeyemi and the the Regent of Erio, Princess Adegoke Adetoyinbo Ojo, were both physically involved as they addressed Professor Olusola. Professor Olusola, who visited the two communities that morning   help quell the anger.

Oba Adeyemi and Princess Ojo were in agreement that they should be removed from BEDC and reconnected to Ibadan Ekectricity Distribution Company (IBEDC). “Our request is direct: The Fayose administration did it before; he connected us to IBEDC and we were enjoying it. We want him to return us to IBEDC. In terms of payment, we are among the communities that pay their bills. BEDC is cheating us. When they give us electricity for five minutes, they would have five hours in their record. How can we pay for services not rendered?”

Recently, the Dr Kayode Fayemi-led government officials met with the offals of BEDC and at the meeting, it was resolved that electricity would be restored to Ipole Iloro, Ikogosi, and Erijiyan communities. Those communities had been without electricity for a long time too.