Human Rights Advocate Urges the FG to Monitor the Activities of Ikeja Electricity and Others on ‘Consumer Rights’ in Lagos State
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Human Rights Advocate Urges the FG to Monitor the Activities of Ikeja Electricity and Others on ‘Consumer Rights’ in Lagos State
By Naomi Onome
The privatized power holdings over time have employed the use of underhanded tactics to exploit their consumers, especially those in the rural area of Lagos State. It is said that inflated bills while there is poor electricity distribution have persisted for too long in the rural areas of the country (Lagos in particular) and must be addressed by the federal government—Minister of Power Chief Adedayo Adelabu—to curb the excesses of the privatized power holding sectors.
Looking at the area of concerns analyzed by Comrade Prince Saviour Iche, aka the voice of the voiceless, a human rights advocate and the president of Ambassadors of Peace and Enlightenment Foundation (AMPEF), he explained that a significant situation in the Ijegun area of Lagos State was a firsthand experience that had lingered for over 10 years since he became a property owner. He said the residents, who are also consumers, are inclined to singularly finance the buying of poles, cables, and a transformer to connect electricity to their houses since the power holding company popularly known as Ikeja Electricity had declined to do so despite several appeals.
He said,
“However, the exorbitant bills charged with no analysis on how power is consumed plus no presented bills other than assumptions based on the number of years or months of usage is the shocker of it all.”
“How can an Ikeja Electricity official falsify an amount according to how financially capable a customer is perceived to be, with no record or bill to the consumer’s name in years and very low distribution of electricity?”
“It is said that on November 1, 2013, following the handover of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to the NEDC/KEPCO Consortium under the privatization scheme of the Federal Government of Nigeria, Ikeja Electric Plc (IE) became the largest Nigerian electricity distribution company. The oil giants, Sahara Group and the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), jointly own a 60% stake of Ikeja Electricity, with 40% still owned by the federal government. This means the government has a good percentage of control over its activities to create a regulation.”
“Why should the FGN condone such impunity by Ikeja Electricity and others on consumers who must rely on the irregular distribution of power despite being sole financiers of the power installations in their community, which was meant to be the obligation of the power holding company to undertake”
“The idea of disconnecting power when there is no meter to read or a proper notice should be addressed by the federal government. Consumers are meant to be given a fair chance of a caution if there is any delay in bill payment before actions are taken. Besides the transformers, poles, connecting cables, and other fittings are provided by the consumers; Consumers by right should be given the ample opportunity of a caution before they are disconnected even when there are no estimated bills”?
“Who is in charge of the Ikeja electricity unit? What are they doing for accountability, and why are they giving people crazy electricity bills without a prepaid meter?. There was a law passed by the Senate that without a prepaid meter, the estimated bill will be abolished. Where is the implementation policy over non-adherence?”
“Nigeria misses the good old days when consumption was estimated correctly via the use of a meter with no crazy bills attached, just what is consumed. This day, officials of power holding companies like Ikeja Electricity walks from street-to-street presenting ID cards and defrauding people under the pretense that a profile for estimation of bills can be created without visiting the nearest office, which has turned out to be false and seen as a means to extort; the registration of a consumer can only be done in any nearest IE office. The IE’s primary duty should be ensuring that consumers are documented accordingly as well as providing a reasonably calculated estimated bill.”
“As law-abiding citizens, Nigerians are meant to get documented and pay promptly the estimated bills, but should be done accurately by IE officials. People who have benefitted from power supply yet have no bills accorded to them cannot be faulted, for there was no form of regulation, follow-up, or documentation to show they are consumers.”
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, during his campaign, promised to give Nigerians a 24-hour uninterrupted power supply. He said, and I quote, “If he is unable to provide power, he shouldn’t be voted in again,” but today, what is happening? He is now going for solar energy, budgeting billions to power Aso Rock. What this means is, that the power holding companies accorded access to control the power sector have failed Nigerians especially lagosians.”
“Neighboring countries have uninterrupted power supplies, which begs the question, why will the giant of Africa lag behind in growth and development, especially in basic infrastructures? The Senate should sit over these concerning issues to establish a committee to oversee the affairs of the various privatized power-holding companies and revoke their licenses if they continually fail to deliver in their duties.”
However, to regulate the excesses of Ikeja Electricity and others, it is important that the federal government implement close monitoring of their activities by ensuring there is an estimated bill according to the consumers’ usage; ensure that the prepaid meter, which according to sources is more economical to use, is provided for massively to cover the state; ensure consumers are not the ones buying poles, cables, and transformers to connect electricity into their homes; and also create ways to evenly distribute electricity by disbanding the recent bands. If all of the aforementioned cannot be done, at least the most concerning one of them all should be addressed by the government, Comrade Prince Saviour Iche added.
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