The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Badagry residents

  • Badagry residents decry 4 years blackout

  • Badagry residents decry four years blackout

    Residents of Badagry have cried out over four years of power outage, accusing Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) of “total neglect”.

    They said the outage had paralysed social and economic activities in the ancient town.

    A resident of Topo-Badagry, Mr Femi Ilori, said it was sad that the town had been in darkness since 2014.

    Ilori said: “Living in this town is becoming unbearable because there is no hope of getting power supply. Since 2014, we have been in darkness in Badagry; former Governor Babatunde Fashola promised us during his tenure that he would bring electricity to Badagry.

    “The present administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode also pledged to restore power supply when he came to launch Light Up Lagos, a rural electrification project, in Badagry. In spite of all these promises, we are still in darkness. No electricity supply to do business, no power at home and in office.

    “In fact, it seems to me that we are not part of Lagos. If not, why is it that no government has been able to solve our electricity supply challenges.”

    He appealed to EKEDC to restore power to Badagry.

    “We are really suffering here due to the total neglect by EKEDC; please give us electricity,” the resident said.

    A frozen food seller at Agbalata International Market, Mrs Funke Adeyeye, said they had killed businesses.

    “Many frozen food sellers have abandoned the business due to lack of power supply to operate. Some are now selling vegetables; they ran into a loss because there is no electricity to sustain their frozen foods. I am still in the business because I took a loan to buy generating set which I’m using daily to power my business.

    “Business is dull due to the outage, traders prefer to travel across Seme border post to buy their frozen food because electricity is constant there and their frozen foods are always fresh. This market is supposed to be booming but the lack of power has turned it to ghost market. The present government and EKEDC should come to our aid by restoring power to the city,” she said.

    A landlord at Ajara-Badagry, Mr Tobi Oke, said the power equipment in the area was in good condition, decring EKEDC’s refusal to supply power to Badagry.

    “Electricity installation and EKEDC equipment in the area are working well, so there is no justification for this outage. EKEDC only flashes residents with two hours supply thrice in a month and the next thing you will see is electricity bill of N5,000. We do not know what we have done to justify this hardship from EKEDC. How do you expect the residents to pay for power supply that comes around 2 a.m., when people are already sleeping only thrice in a month.

    “We are peaceful and ready to pay for electricity supply, so EKEDC should please restore supply to our community, this hardship is too much,” he said.

    EKEDC spokesman Godwin Idemudia, attributed the outage to the ongoing National Integrated Power Project (NIPP).

    Part of the project, he said, had been handed over to EKEDC but not completed.

    “The community might still experience outage here and there until all the projects within that area of our network are fully completed. We appeal to our customers within the area to bear with us as all hands are on deck to improve supply to the affected communities,” he said.

  • Badagry residents stage ‘no pre-paid meter, no payment’ protest

    Some Badagry residents have threatened to stop paying their electricity bills if they are not supplied pre-paid meters.

    They staged what they called “No pre-paid meter, No payment” protest to draw attention to the epileptic electricity supply in their area.

    They said they had been experiencing irregular power supply in  Magbon in Olorunda Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of the state.

    The Magbon landlords and Tenants Association, comprising about 50 communities from Check-Point to Ile-Epo, Araromi, said members were in “shackles of enslavement.”

    The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), the group said, denied its members pre-paid meters, sent them “outrageous estimated bills” and threatened them with disconnections.

    The group’s chairman, Adeshina Aribifo, said: “All we need is regular electricity and pre-paid meters to read the amount of power that is consumed. Our mumu don do. We own the wires; we bought the poles and the transformers. We also paid EKEDC a huge amount of money for the installation, yet nothing good has come out of Nazareth. Enough is enough. We are using this medium to tell EKEDC officials that failure to comply with our proposition, they should not come into any of the communities that make up Magbon for disconnection, instead they can disconnect the light from the line fuse.”

    According to the chairman, the area has about 40 transformers.

    The association, he said, was prepared to liberate its communities from the exploitation.

    The national chairman, Alhaji Rilwan Ojora Akinolu, urged EKEDC to be guided by the provision the 1999 Constitution on the billing system.

    “It is called Methodology of Billing, which means EKEDC officials have to do their rating by either the use of pre-paid meter or a functioning meter, not just by calculating off-hand. Why will a 10-room building using pre-paid meter consumes N5,000 worth of power in a month, while another building without pre-paid meter is billed N20,000, sometimes, N30,000 for the same period?”

    Reacting, EKEDC District Manager for Agbara Sunday Oyeide said the firm’s position was that any community not forthcoming in terms of patronage would not get pre-paid meters.

    He implored the community to encourage its residents to pay their bills regularly.

  • Badagry residents lament poor infrastructure

    Residents of Badagry have decried the epileptic electricity supply and deplorable roads.
    They urged government to increase its developmental projects in the area.
    At a sensitisation programme organised by the Public Advice Centre, Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Secretary to the Royal Council and Baale of Yafin, Chief Abiodun Patinvoh called for construction of fences in public schools, good road network, among others.
    “Apart from the need for government to employ more qualified teachers in our schools, we also want the government to build fences in the public primary and secondary schools in Badagry. Most of the schools here especially in my area do not have fences to protect them. The people also need constant electricity supply and good roads to make life easier,” he said.
    Another resident, Prince Emmanuel Kotti, also condemned infrastructural deficit in the area.
    He said: “Badagry has a good historical record. It is a fact that the first storey building was built in this place. Badagry also served as a point of contact and entry for the missionaries when they came to Nigeria. But despite all these commendable historical records, I still wonder why the same area does not have constant electricity supply.”
    PAC Director Mrs Tola Akinsanya said the centre serves as the first port of call for residents in distress, saying “those whose rights have been violated and those seeking information on their rights and responsibilities,” she said.
    Akinsanya said plans were on to establish PAC office in Badagry.
    He urged residents to take advantage of free service of the centre to lodge complaints and seek information.