Meters
By Aisha Cole
Lagos, Aug. 14, 2018 (NAN) The Landlords and Tenants Association in Lagos on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest at the Head Office of the Eko Electricity 0Distribution Company (EKEDC), Marina, over outrageous estimated bills and non-provision of prepaid meters.
The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions such as: “We are fed up with estimated bills,’’ “Give us regular electricity supply,’’ and “We want prepaid meters’’.
They also displayed placards bearing: “Investigate Operators in Your Control Room,’’ “Change your residential marketers,’’ “No Prepaid meters, No Payments,’’ “Give us Prepaid Meters’’.
Some of the protesters told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the management of EKEDC should give them prepaid meters, instead of continuing with the estimated billing system.
NAN gathered that the protesters came from various parts of the Lagos metropolis such as: Badagry, Orile-Iganmu, Amukoko, Coker, Magbon, Ajegunle, Sari-Iganmu, Badiya, Okoafor, Surulere, Allen Avenue, and others.
The association’s President, Mr Riliwan Ojora-Akinolu, alleged that EKEDC officials usually distributed outrageous bills in the metropolis.
Ojora-Akinolu claimed that some EKEDC officials had cut off electricity supply cables to various parts of the Lagos metropolis and put those areas in darkness.
He said EKEDC officials were serving them bills which do not reflect the irregular power supply witnessed in most parts of the metropolis.
“We have been on this issue since 2015; we went to the various offices of EKEDC where they directed us to Marina to meet with their directors.
“We have been having several meetings with various officials of EKEDC which have yielded no results, hence we have now come in large numbers to express our challenges.
“What we need now are prepaid meters and the adjustment of our bills,” Ojoroa-Akinolu said.
The Community Development Association (CDA) Chairman, Akintan/Ayilara area in Surulere, Mr Tope Aluko, urged EKEDC to supply the area with prepaid meters and stop the distribution of outrageous bills.
“They are making life uncomfortable for us.
“The electricity supply to our area is not regular as they leave us in darkness for most times and they do not consult any of our community leaders.
“Three residents in a room and parlour apartment, for instance, are being billed about N18, 000 monthly, even without regular electricity supply: that is certainly outrageous,’’ Aluko said.
In her remarks, another protester, Alhaja Idera Lawal, of 39, Akintan Street, Surulere, lamented the irregular power supply in his neighbourhood.
She said that the area was essentially residential, not a commercial area, and that EKEDC was in the habit of distributing estimated bills to its residents.
A Tailor at Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Mr Tunde Dacosta, said he had been finding it difficult to meet the demands of his customers due to erratic power supply to the area.
“We have not been having electricity for more than six months and they are still giving us ridiculous bills; we are just paying for what we do not consume.
“EKEDC is giving us analogue billing which keeps increasing their charges on monthly basis, without any commensurate improvement in electricity supply,’’ he said.
Dacosta, therefore, pleaded with EKEDC officials to come to his area and carry out an inventory, to enable the electricity Distribution Company to be able to bill them appropriately.
In his reaction, EKEDC’s General Manager, Corporate
Communication, Mr Godwin Idemudia, told NAN that the protesters’ grievances would soon be resolved by the company’s management.
“Some residents of many areas in Surulere and the Landlords and Tenants Association came to protest in our office today, demanding for more prepaid meters.
“Invariably, they say they want prepaid meters. We are going to give them the appropriate forms individually.
“We have collected details of their leaders for a follow up.
“Some of the protesters have given us their bills and we told them that every bill has a history,’’ Idemudia said.
The EKEDC spokesman assured that the company would look into their complaints, one after the other, to resolve them. (NAN)
AIC/PIO/PIO
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(Edited by Idonije Obakhedo)