By Onozure Dania

Lagos—Some Staff of Eko Electricity Distribution Company, EKEDC, in Festac Town, Lagos, yesterday, disconnected about 80 flats at 312 Road area of the town, from power supply, following the resistance by the residents that their power supply would not be disconnected over unbearable estimated bills they are forced to pay every month.

electricity

A resident and retiree, Mrs Abinbola, who spoke to Vanguard, said the distribution company’s staff arrived the area and disconnected the lights, adding: “About 9.30a.m., three EKEDC men came, first to Block 1 and started disconnecting light. The residents came out complaining that they have hardly had light in the last three months.

“We tried explaining that refusing to give a resident pre-paid metre and unjustly imposing N17,000 on the person, was robbery, wicked and exploitative, more so when the lsupply had been problematic since the beginning of the year.

”Before we knew it, they had disconnected the 16 flats in the block. This angered other residents, who insisted on getting pre-paid metres and reconnection of the disconnected flats.

“Tension rose and before you knew it, while we  insisted on the pre-paid metres as that will save us  from continued harassments, they disconnected the entire 80 flats.

“The sad part was that while the  Public Relations Officer, PRO, of the Festac office  and another man we believe to be a manager, were with us, they went ahead to disconnect us. Showing that all they wanted was to continue to exploit us.”

Meanwhile, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, EKEDC, Godwin Idemudia, called for dialogue to resolve crisis, adding that repair was ongoing to restore power in the area.

According to him, “It is indeed very sad that some of our valued customers would take laws into their hands by preventing our staff from carrying out their lawful duties. We believe that dialogue is all that is needed to resolve any issue the residents have with our company.

“We will not tolerate any act of harassment or any unlawful detention by any community whatsoever of our staff without going through the lawful process. This is not the first time we are receiving reports of that community preventing our staff from carrying out their duties.

“The issue of shortage of meters is not peculiar to Eko Disco alone. It is a nationwide issue. Apart from that, we have installed more than 800 prepaid meters in Festac District alone in the last six months.”

“We cannot meter all our customers all at the same time. It is an ongoing process which we believe the residents should understand. The bills they currently have are for June and not July. We need understanding on the part of the customers as our staff lives amongst them too.

“However, dialogue is the only solution to resolve whatever problem they have with us and not taking the laws into their hand. The area was not disconnected. Very soon the fault that occurred will be rectified.”