THE protest was peaceful, but that did not diminish the intensity of the feelings of residents of Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Council of Lagos State over what they described as ‘highly unusual’, ‘crazy’, ‘unacceptable’ ‘wicked’ bills being forced on them by Power Holdings Company of Nigeria, (PHCN).
Representatives of the residents marched to PHCN Head Office; Apapa to lodge a formal complaint over the bills, especially for August-September, which they said, was increased by between 200 per cent and 300 per cent.
In a petition signed by four members of the community, and a communiqué also issued and delivered to PHCN, the residents, while noting the improvement in supply of electricity, expressed dissatisfaction with August and September bills that went up astronomically.
“The Federal Government is yet to implement salary to N18,000.00 minimum wage, yet demands more from members of the public that are already starving. There is no doubt that with the current bill, an average Nigerian would continue to live under $1 per day, which heightens as well as reveals Nigerian’s poverty level.
“In the circumstance, we are demanding for the cancellation of the excess in these outrageous bills as stated above.
“We have also observed that your field workers no longer come with recording or billing cards according to usual practice when a card was always left under the meter to avoid abnormalities.
“We solicit that Pre-paid Meters be allocated to us in our Local Council, particularly Awodi Ora Estate to address this problem”
One of the signatories of the petition, Rev. Oke Michael wondered why the government should increase electricity tariff knowing full well that it has not been able to implement a minimum wage of N18,000.00.
“I believe without the approval of the President, this abnormal and inconsiderate increase would not have been implemented.
“One would have expected all those at the top who would not feel the pinch because of huge allowances they enjoy, to put themselves in the shoes of the overwhelming majority of Nigerians.
“Should people not eat again because of light or how would you want somebody living on N10, 000.00 or N7, 000.00 per month to cope with such increase?
“It is simply inhuman and inconsiderate on the part of the government, no matter the excuse they may want to give.
“Before, past governments that had consideration for the poor, placed electricity under ‘Corporation’ so that power would be affordable by both the rich and the poor with the government subsidising.
“This position had been eroded in the name of privatization which is nothing but inhuman,” he lamented.
Another representative of the residents, Saheed Kukoyi, wondered why the government did not first of all distribute Pre-paid Meters if truly it loves Nigerians.
“I see these outrageous bills as a deliberate move by the government to add more burden to Nigerians who are already languishing in penury
Addressing the protesters, the Senior Manager (Public Affairs) of PHCN, Segun Kosoko said the new tariff in operation was determined by the National Regulatory Commission to make PHCN, which the government wants to sell, more attractive to investors.
“You would observe that your light has been steady of recent. I want to tell you that that has been responsible for the hike in tariff due to increase in generation, transmission and distribution,” he said.
Culled:247nigerianewsupdate
Representatives of the residents marched to PHCN Head Office; Apapa to lodge a formal complaint over the bills, especially for August-September, which they said, was increased by between 200 per cent and 300 per cent.
In a petition signed by four members of the community, and a communiqué also issued and delivered to PHCN, the residents, while noting the improvement in supply of electricity, expressed dissatisfaction with August and September bills that went up astronomically.
“The Federal Government is yet to implement salary to N18,000.00 minimum wage, yet demands more from members of the public that are already starving. There is no doubt that with the current bill, an average Nigerian would continue to live under $1 per day, which heightens as well as reveals Nigerian’s poverty level.
“In the circumstance, we are demanding for the cancellation of the excess in these outrageous bills as stated above.
“We have also observed that your field workers no longer come with recording or billing cards according to usual practice when a card was always left under the meter to avoid abnormalities.
“We solicit that Pre-paid Meters be allocated to us in our Local Council, particularly Awodi Ora Estate to address this problem”
One of the signatories of the petition, Rev. Oke Michael wondered why the government should increase electricity tariff knowing full well that it has not been able to implement a minimum wage of N18,000.00.
“I believe without the approval of the President, this abnormal and inconsiderate increase would not have been implemented.
“One would have expected all those at the top who would not feel the pinch because of huge allowances they enjoy, to put themselves in the shoes of the overwhelming majority of Nigerians.
“Should people not eat again because of light or how would you want somebody living on N10, 000.00 or N7, 000.00 per month to cope with such increase?
“It is simply inhuman and inconsiderate on the part of the government, no matter the excuse they may want to give.
“Before, past governments that had consideration for the poor, placed electricity under ‘Corporation’ so that power would be affordable by both the rich and the poor with the government subsidising.
“This position had been eroded in the name of privatization which is nothing but inhuman,” he lamented.
Another representative of the residents, Saheed Kukoyi, wondered why the government did not first of all distribute Pre-paid Meters if truly it loves Nigerians.
“I see these outrageous bills as a deliberate move by the government to add more burden to Nigerians who are already languishing in penury
Addressing the protesters, the Senior Manager (Public Affairs) of PHCN, Segun Kosoko said the new tariff in operation was determined by the National Regulatory Commission to make PHCN, which the government wants to sell, more attractive to investors.
“You would observe that your light has been steady of recent. I want to tell you that that has been responsible for the hike in tariff due to increase in generation, transmission and distribution,” he said.
Culled:247nigerianewsupdate
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