08 April 2014, Lagos – Some residents of Ojota, near Lagos on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest over what they described as the epileptic power supply in the area.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the protesters were seen moving from street to street in the area, carrying placards.
Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “No light no pay; three weeks in total darkness, we will not pay; all Ojota residents should stop paying NEPA bill,’’ among others.
The protesters urged residents of the area to stop paying electricity bills until there was regular supply of electricity.
One of the protesters, Mr Festus Okiyi, said that the low level of electricity supply in the area was worrisome.
“It is time we take our destiny into our hands. We will no longer tolerate that.
“If the new buyers of the electricity companies cannot improve the supply of light they should stop collecting money from members of the public,’’ Okiyi said.
A barber, who gave his name simply Muyiwa, said that he spent a lot of money to fuel his generating set to keep his business going.
He said that the last fuel scarcity almost grounded his business as he could not buy fuel.
NAN reports that streets mostly affected include Roju Avenue, Gbadebo, Olabisi, Ogudu Road, Amao, Ogunletti, Olatunji and Emmanuel.
NAN reports that a similar protest was staged by residents of Ilupeju, where they advised residents not to pay electricity bill until there was improvement in supply.
When contacted, the Ikeja Distribution Zone Public Relations Officer, Mr Pekun Adeyanju, blamed the situation on the power generation company, stressing that they had a short fall of supply.
“We don’t generate power; we only distribute what we have. Electricity is not something that we store in a place. Unfortunately we are at the receiving end.
“We got 328 megawatt instead of 937 megawatt to satisfy the consumers under our zone. We can’t stop people from protesting, but we call for their understanding.
“We also call for more power generation,’’ Adeyanju said. (NAN)
