Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Senior Staff Association Of Electricity And Allied Companies, SSAEAC, has threatened to shut down power supply in the entire Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, over the near-death attack on its member, Comrade Gboro Benjamin, by PHED customers in the area.
According to SSAEAC, Comrade Gboro Benjamin, a staff of PHED and the Occupational Health and Safety Officer of the Association in PHED Beta II Area, was brutally attacked by electricity consumers while on official duty to check prepaid meters bypass at Diamond Estate, along Shell Location Road in Umuebule IV, Etche LGA of Rivers State.
SSAEAC’s Deputy General Secretary, South East and South South, Comrade Innocent Lord-Douglas, explained that the attack was carried out by a PHED customer named Nnabuike George with meter number 0124000344273.
Lord-Douglas speaking on telephone to SweetCrude Reports, vowed that unprovoked attacks on members doing their legitimate work will be resisted and the Association will leave no stone unturned until justice is seen to have been done to all.
He further disclosed that already SSAEAC has directed PHED Beta II to shut out electricity supply from the residence of the said customer, and if any resistance is noticed, the entire Diamond Estate should be shut out of power supply.
“Due to the rampart cases of prepaid meter bypass customers in the system, our members do go about on meters’ checking. Besides, these meters are not personal property of customers but properties of the DisCos. And so Benjamin asked for access to check Nnabuike George’s meter, who is reportedly being shared with a bar in the area. They denied him access and instead, the man, his wife, his son and people in the bar descended on him with planks, beating him to pulp and hitting him badly on the eye.
“When I got wind of the incident, I told our members in PHED to get the Police to arrest the culprits. By the time the Chief Security Officer of PHED got to Oyigbo Police Station, the wife of the man had already incidented the case; on enquiry, the DPO of Oyigbo Police Station even threatened to beat up the CSO of PHED, if he say anything. So you see? The Police is already compromised.
“Our next resolve would be to shut out power supply in the whole of Etche LGA, until we get justice for our member. The man is critically injured, and information has it that he may suffer a near blindness if urgent and intensive medical attention is delayed.
“If he becomes blind, what will happened to his family? What will be the fate of our members in the field? So we will do everything legally possible to get justice to serve as a deterrence to people who are fond of attacking electricity workers in the field.
“When we shut out the entire Etche LGA from getting power supply, the LGA Chairman, paramount rulers, the Police and other stakeholders will produce the culprit, who are currently at large,” SSAEAC said.
