It should be noted that in May, 2016, we secured a court judgement against the 11 Distribution Companies and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission through our lawyer, Barrister Toluwani Adebiyi to revert the upward review of tariff which did not pass through due process. The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos declared the tariff illegal and ordered a reversal to status quo ante bellum.
A month down the line, after the landmark judgement that was secured for Nigerians, the DISCOs including BEDC and NERC refused to obey the court judgement, in our consciousness that we must uphold the law of our land and not allow private companies and some persons desecrate our land with impunity we directed all Nigerians not to pay the tariff that has been declared illegal by the court until they comply with the court judgment. HOW DOES THAT AMOUNT TO ELECTRICITY THEFT?.
THE NEW ORDER BECAUSE OF BEDC THIEVERY
While we were protesting their disobedience to the court order refusing to pay the illegal tariff, BEDC was busy using that to short change the power sector. The management of BEDC after collecting for instance N100 million from customers, they will remit N50 million to Abuja, saying, Edo Civil Society Organisations have asked the people not to pay bills thereby pocketing the remaining balance collected.
In the power sector value chain, whatever the distribution company collects from customers are remitted and shared in percentage among the stakeholders, that is, the Generation Company, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), NERC, Gas Supplier, Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) and the DISCOs. The DISCOs don’t pay cash to purchase energy, they collect revenue from end users for other stakeholders in the value chain.
When we realised that the Benin Electricity Distribution Company is using this excuse to cheat the system making illegal profit to the detriment of the power sector, we ordered that all our members and the general public to resume payment so that they won’t have any excuse to cheat the system further.
Edo State House of Assembly Committee on Power and Energy led by Hon. Desmond Igbas had also pleaded with us to suspend non payment of bills even though they know of the court judgment pending the resolution of a matter against BEDC we brought before it. Since we started making payments according to our consumption and the court order, BEDC has not been happy, they wish we continue with our protest of non payment so as to further continue in their theft. As it stands now, our members are making monthly commitments to BEDC on electricity bills, the operation No Payment has been suspended months ago.
On Innocent Okpara, the man was owing bills and was disconnected without resistance, just because he demanded to take hold of his cables the white expatriate working with BEDC ordered the soldiers attached to him to brutalised Innocent Okpara. That is the main issue, we want to know if one owes electricity bill, the military should be used to brutalised him/her?
The man has paid part of the contested outrageous bill and requested to be connected, instead BEDC is demanding that he withdraws his petition against them before reconnection. BEDC MUST RECONNECT OKPARA FIRST BEFORE ANY NEGOTIATION.
We want Nigerians and Edo people to know that we are fighting their fight, this private company BEDC is here to exploit, extort, cheat, oppress them. They treat customers like nobody, refused to supply prepaid meters so as to cheat us, they reject energy allotted to them because they can make money from estimated bills even when they supply darkness.
We are requesting everybody to join us in this struggle, every community leader, traditional leader, patriotic Nigerians, society changers to join forces with us to overthrow this evil called BEDC that have increased suffering on us. No amount of cheap blackmail will deter us, they are known liars just to sustain their fraudulent enterprise. It will interest us to know that several communities will be shutting down BEDC offices in the coming week in expression of their disatisfaction in their services
We demand the Federal Government to REVOKE their LICENCE, they are good for nothing.
Signed:
Comrade Osazee Edigin
Public Relations Officer
Edo Civil Society Organisations
www.edocso.org
