Leaders and people of Olorunda community in Ado Ekiti Local Government Area of Ekiti State recently staged a street protest against the operations of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), demanding that the company should desist from its estimated bill they said was “outrageous and unacceptable.”
The members of the community had marched on the major street of Olorunda and converged on the health centre in the community, where the leaders had addressed the crowd and demanded that “if the BEDC fails to supply prepaid meter to the homes in the community, they should not come to collect money from us again.”
Speaking through the President of Olorunda Community, Pastor Gbenga Ilesanmi, the people also called on the state government to intervene in what they said was “the huge estimated high bills”, saying “in all, we have spent about N21million to provide transformer, electric poles, wire and labour for the provision of electricity in our community with BEDC not providing anything.”
Ilesanmi said the members of the community were “tired and frustrated with the high bills without the supply of electricity,” saying “the bills range from between N3,000 and N11,000 and we say no to direct billing system.”
Ilesanmi said said: “We have resolved not to pay any other bill until prepaid meters are supplied to the community.”
The community president called on Governor Ayodele Fayose to intervene in the matter and also in the poor infrastructure in the community, saying “our road is bad and erosion is a major problem ravaging our community.”
Chairman of the community’s Electricity Task Force, Mr. Ayodele Pius, said “what we are passing through is no longer palatable. We procured everything we needed in the 12 zones in the community. BEDC did not provide anything, yet we pay bills, we buy oil and other parts when the transformers get faulty. We will receive huge estimated bills and we will pay. But now we can’t bear it anymore.”
The Women Leader of the community, Deaconess Susan Ajewole, lamented that “the BEDC officials reject as much as N5,000 when they come for the bills, despite the fact that we are a purely residential community without any form of industrial concern, and we are being owed salaries by the government.”
She said each of the houses in the 12 zones of the community “contributed N30,000 each when we were to buy the electricity transformers while each zone paid N45,000 each when one of it got spoilt,” saying “we are tired of the treatment we are receiving from the BEDC and it must stop.”
Efforts to get the reaction of BEDC was unsuccessful.
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