Residents of Ozalla Obasi community in Idemili North Local Government Area Anambra State, have taken to the streets to protest against what they called “outrageous and irritative estimated electricity billing” by the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC.

The aggrieved residents, numbering over a thousand, including the aged ones, marched round Onitsha environs and the EEDC offices.

They also alleged that EEDC officials from Enugu and Onitsha were constantly using police personnel to harass and intimidate them in order to force them into paying the outrageous estimated electricity bills, even when electricity has not being supplied to the community for many months now.

Insisting that the action of the EEDC in not supplying them power and over-charging them is contrary to the order of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC and the Onitsha High Court judgment in suit No. HID/279/2917, which ordered that EEDC, should not bring electricity bills, disconnect their light, intimidate or harass them until it provides the community with prepaid meters.

Addressing journalists in Onitsha on Wednesday, the Chairman of Ozalla Obasi Community Welfare Association, Chukwudi Mbanuzue, who spoke on behalf of the aggrieved protesters, in company of his Secretary, Ebele Okolo, and other members of the community, said that their disagreement with EEDC dated back to 2016.

Mbanuzue said, “From 2016, EEDC does not supply us power up to five times in a month, but they kept bringing outrageous and irritative estimated monthly electricity bills and when the complaints became so much, we agreed in a meeting to write to the Ogidi District of EEDC and later took our complaint and even protested to the EEDC Enugu, but nothing came out of the moves.

“We decided to take our complaints to the NERC in Abuja, and at Abuja, NERC told us what to do to serve them our protest letter, which we served them in December 2016.

“However, on January 7, 2017, they called us for a meeting with EEDC and at the meeting, they directed EEDC to provide prepaid meters immediately to us or stop collecting payments or disconnect our light, but EEDC requested to be given till the end of March, 2017 to provide the prepaid meters, but they later failed, and continued harassing and collecting bills ranging from N20,000 to N50,000 per flat.

“When we could not contain the intimidation, harassment and outrageous irritating estimated billing, we decided to report back to NERC in August 2017, and they told us to drag them to court because they don’t discuss a case two times.

“We immediately started the court process and on February 12, 2018, our court matter against EEDC started and went on until July 9, 2018, when judgment was delivered by Hon. Justice E.S Nri-Ezedi, who told EEDC to do what the NERC earlier ordered it to do, which was to provide prepaid meters to us or never to disturb us with bills or the disconnection of our electricity supply.

“However EEDC started intermittent provision of the prepaid meters and later stopped and resumed estimated billing of our people, and this time, anybody who opposed them was arrested using police and vigilante operatives and beaten up mercilessly.

“They always invade residences of members of the community who opposed them between 3.30am and 4:00am and take them to Awada Police Station or the State CID in Awka.

“As I speak with you now, we have been invited to Awka by one Sergeant Effiong from the State CID, Awka, claiming that he wants to settle the rift between us and the EEDC, and we keep wondering what concerns the police with electricity matter disagreement with EEDC.

“NERC gave EEDC’s management a directive, which it failed to carry out, and the court looked at the merit of our complaints that we have been paying electricity bills more than we are required to pay, so we approached the court and the court directed them to obey the instruction of NERC, to provide prepaid meters in our community or stop collecting electricity bills or disconnecting us, yet they keep arresting and intimidating us with security agents.

“We decided to run to the media for the world to hear what we are passing through in the hands of EEDC since 2016. Even when the court and NERC told us not to pay anything until they provide prepaid meters for us, a priest intervened between us and them and pleaded that we start paying them N2,000 to N5,000, we agreed.

“But shortly after, they started abusing the agreement and were collecting between N20,000 to N50,000 per flat and that started another disagreement, and when we refused to pay them, they started arresting our members.

“We did not say that we will not pay for light consumed, but what we are saying is that we will not continue paying estimated bills anymore.

“Some of us got electricity bill of N100,243, for the month of October, while some people were given N345,914 electricity bill for August, where in Nigeria is anybody paying such bill in a flat. That is what we are protesting against.”

Some of the executive members who spoke were of the opinion that the intention of the management of EEDC to ensure regular and affordable electricity supply to the people of South-East, is deliberately being frustrated by the workers’ refusal to provide prepaid meters for consumers in the zone.

The Ozalla Obosi residents further alleged that the large chunk of the estimated electricity bills being collected from them by EEDC officials are not entering the coffers of the company, but rather diverted into the pockets of the officials, who deliberately refused to provide prepaid meters for the customers.

They, therefore, called on the chairman of EEDC, Sir Emeka Offor, to investigate their complaints, allegations and order for the immediate release of prepaid meters to the community and other electricity consumers in the zone to avoid losses being incurred by the company.

(The Guardian)

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