- Residents decry high electricity traffic
- Ikeja Electric promises customer enumeration
The residents of Giwa and Agbado-Oke Aro in Ogun state have decried the high cost of electricity in the area. Residents took the protest to the Abule Egba Business Unit of Ikeja Electric. The residents protested with placards lamenting the cost of living on a minimum wage of thirty thousand naira and demanding prepaid meters.
A resident, Mr Kehinde Adesina, stated that the community had experienced a continuous rise in the cost of electricity. Adeshina noted that residents initially received monthly bills of ₦5,000 but now pay up to ₦40,000 monthly.
“They (electricity officials) told us they will come for enumeration, but we have informed them that it is either we get our prepaid meters, or they bring the bills back to ₦10,000 per month,” Adesina said.
“How do we survive with bills of 35, 40k when this in an area mostly dominated by elderly people. They told us to go and pay the amount issued for November which, is ₦22,000 for each flat, but we told them we can no longer continue to pay such amounts and we won’t pay until the matter is resolved,” he added.
The Chairman of Cannanland Community Development Association (CDA), Engr. Timothy Akide stated that the community had made several demands to Ikeja Electric for meters, with no response.
“Our demands for prepaid was also not addressed; now we are told to pay N63,000 or wait till June or July till Federal Government released another set of pre-paid meters,” Akide said.
“..the officials said the bills were due to consumption, but we made them realize that our consumption per house has not changed, so they said they will come for enumeration from house to house. It is a welcome development because we know the truth will be revealed,” he added.