A civil rights organisation, the Save Lagos Group has fixed Friday, June 8 as the date members of the group will picket the premises of the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company over what it termed poor services to millions of the company’s customers.

This is coming just as the group has also fixed Friday, July 6 to picket the undertaken office of the company located in Adiyan area of the state in what the group called ‘Operation Enough is Enough of Bad Company.’

A statement issued by the Convener of the Save Lagos Group, Comrade Adeniyi A. Sulaiman, on Saturday at the Ikeja Lagos office of the organisation said the decision forms part of the resolutions reached by the Congress on the state of the nation.

The statement said the move which has become the climax to months of warning notices to the Ikeja Distribution Company and is also aimed at ensuring that quality services are made available to the teeming customers that the company serves.

“We have resolved to go ahead with the plans to picket the corporate headquarters of Ikeja Electricity Company located at Alausa in Ikeja on June 8. There is no going back on that since the company has refused to change its tactics regarding how it engages with its customers,” Sulaiman stated in the statement made available to journalists.

Though, the group had initially fixed October 1st date as the ultimatum for the company to improve on its services to the people, he added that the decision to bring the event forward was primed to coincide with the 22nd memorial anniversary of the death of human right activist, Alhaja Kudirat Abiola.

He added that the July 6th event at the company’s undertaken office at Adiyan is also aimed at marking the 20th memorial anniversary of the murder of the acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1996, Presidential election that was criminally and illegally annulled by the military regime headed by General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

Sulaiman added that the July 6th event at Adiyan town is tagged ‘Operation Masses Liberation’.

He stated the decision to go ahead with the picketing is also based on the plight of a customer with the company, Mr. Adigun Onatokunbo Rotimi, a civil servant who is the latest victim of staff working for the electricity distribution firm who are wont to dubiously fleece unsuspecting customers through crazy billing.

According to Sulaiman a staff with the company, simply known as Mr. John (with phone number 08112122093) is of the habit of collecting payments from customers without providing proof of payment such as receipt or docket.

“From our findings, the said Mr. John, in this case, collected N 3, 300 being part payment for an outstanding N5,586.64 but when they eventually paid the remaining N2, 286.64 out of which the sum of N1,500 was paid by hand but never reflected in subsequent bill only to be added in bills to be paid later thus bringing the new amount to N4,523.14 after which N2,500 was paid through a bank,” he stated.

He added: “The suspected Mr. John who is attached to the Adiyan undertaken office under Abule Egba Business Unit of the Ikeja Electric still insisted that he would collect another N3,000 from the wife of the customer if they still want to enjoy the services of the company, a request that was turned down by Mrs. Rotimi Adigun prompting him to disconnect them.”

The group added that the distressed customer called two officials of the Ikeja Electric Mr. Ayeni (08033153477) and a yet to be identified top staff whose phone number is 08033010304 who both promised to act but failed woefully to address the complaints of Rotimi.

“As we speak, these top officials have not called the errant staff called John to order. We have it on good authority that John is fond of collecting money from customers without remitting same to the coffers of the company thus prompting the customers to pay for the same services on multiple occasions,” Sulaiman said.

The group stated that John is in the habit of terrifying customers in areas under the company such as Moboluwaduro, Ifedapo, Arhoshin, Ifelele and others leaving many of the customers without electricity.

He added that the Chairman of the Landlord Association, Mr. Agboola (07038243146), the Women Leader, one Mrs Alabi, popularly known as Iya Ibeji (08033771291) and another resident known as Mr. Yemi Akuebi (08101523776) have made series of representation to the company all to no avail.

“These personalities were forced to rectify the damages caused by a broken down pole in their neighbourhood that was never attended to by the company. From our findings, these people have made concerted efforts to make the company speed up the distribution of prepaid metres to customers in their areas of operations,” adding that the inability of the company to give the metres to the customers after collecting the sum of N45,000 each from them is fraudulent,” he concluded.

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