A cross section of Lagosians has made a passionate appeal to the Federal Government to revoke with immediate effect, the operational licence of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) for gross efficiency.

According to them, since the license was issued to them, most of the districts that fall under their jurisdiction were always in darkness.

They said that even maintaining their infrastructure have become a very big challenge.

Speaking further, they said that all that the management of IKEDC was interested in was collecting money from customers and not rendering services.

They lamented that even though they were paying for power consumption, they were still spending a lot on diesel and petrol on a daily basis.

Francis Etukudo, a Super Market owner in Ogba, Ikeja, said that what IKEDC management was doing was extorting the customers of their hard earned money, instead of supplying power to them.

He alleged that what the DISCO was doing was not business but frustrating business owners and residents with the licence that was given to them.

“Sincerely speaking, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company is now our biggest challenge in doing business. As a Super Market owner, I use diesel more than 20 hours every day. In short, what would have come as a profit to me is going into purchase of diesel and upon that, I still pay IKEDC heavily for the service they did not render to me or to my business.

“Go around Ogba and see for yourself. We cannot boast of four hours power supply in a day. It is because of this that I am appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari to revoke their licence because they don’t have the capacity to deliver on their job.”

In his contribution, the Publicity Secretary of business owners at Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road, Ayodele Busari, said that business owners along the area were surviving based on self-help.

According to him, most of the hotels that were located in the area pay as much as N10 million monthly as electricity bill while they still run on diesel most of the time.

He said that federal government should, with immediate effect, revoke the licence of the DISCO because it was doing far more harm than good to business owners and even residents under their jurisdiction.

Busari said that in other climes, international airport roads are given preference when it comes to supply of electricity since it was the first port of call for visitors into the country.

However, he said that IKEDC has been ruining the image of the country by keeping Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road in perpetual darkness.

“IKEDC is not helping the brand image of Nigeria. They are de-marketing the image of Nigeria. Go to all the hotels located along the International Airport Road, they are running on diesel, noise everywhere. What impression do you think that this will be creating in the minds of foreigners? That is why we are calling on the federal government to revoke their licence so as to stop this embarrassment to the country and give it those who have the capacity to deliver,” he said.