– Protesters in Lagos gathered at the
electricity distribution company
– They claimed the company was sacking
workers indiscrimantely
– They vowed to occupy the place until
change is achieved
A group of protesters under the aegis of the
Citizen Access to Electricity Initiative (CAEI)
in conjunction with the Nigerian Labour
Congress (NLC) have taken to the street in
Lagos to protest the service delivery of the
electricity company in Lagos.
Members of the group numbered about a
hundred carried placards bearing inscriptions
condemning the activities of electricity
distribution in the state especially by Ikeja
Electric.
Members of the group blocked the entrance
into the Ikeja Electric office in the Ikeja area
of the state called on the company to live
up to its expectation as that was the reason
it was privatised in the first place. The group
of protesters noted that the distribution
company had failed to provide electricity
while also increasing tariff.
Sack of members
CAEI accused the electricity company of
indiscriminately sacking 400 workers without
0any reason and also failed to pay them what
they deserved. Comrade Joseph Emmanuel
who is the secretary of CAEI said the
company hired 600 casual workers in place
of the workers who were sacked to reduce
cost.
Emmanuel said: “The company sacked its
best workers and hired casual workers
instead. By sacking one worker, you have also
sacked about 20 people who are dependent on
that one person. We will continue to occupy
this place until all those who have been
sacked have been duly reinstated.”
Prepaid meter
The group accused the electricity company
of distributing doctored meters to consumers
so that they end up paying the fixed tariff
they were paying before they were given the
meters.
One of the protesters who spoke on the
condition of anonymity claimed before the
prepaid meters that were issued out were
already fixed even before customers use
them.
“I can tell you that the meters they are issuing
now are not like the ones they issued in the
past. The ones they are giving out now have
been tampered with so that you have no
choice but to pay the same amount you were
paying before getting the meters.”
Unrealistic targets
The protesters also complained that one of
the reasons some workers were sacked was
because they could not meet up with the
financial targets the company gave them.
They said workers were forced to issue
dubious tariff to consumers just to be able
to meet up with targets and in spite of that,
they could still not meet up with the targets.
Emmanuel said : “How do you think workers
will be able to bring in the kind of money the
company expects if they do not issue dubious
tariff? The demands are too high and
unrealistic.”
Power distribution
The protesters complained that Lagos state
was getting up to 200 megawatts for
distribution but no place can boast of two
hours of uninterrupted power.
“Since they have decided to leave Lagos in
darkness, we have also decided to paint the
state red with out protest. Nigerians have
spoken. We will occupy this place until change
is achieved. Nigerians are paying for power
without seeing it. We will not take it.”
Police men stand guard in front of PHCN
office to prevent the angry protesters from
entering PHCN office near Governor’s office
in Ikeja, Lagos state.
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