By IJEDE LCDA CHAIRMAN URGES IKEJA ELECTRICITY, EGBIN POWER PLC TO IMPROVE ON POWER SUPPLY, COMMUNITY SERVICE
…Laments frequent power breakdown
…Decries the state of employment slot to sons and daughter by Egbin Power PLC
In what seems to be a passionate appeal the Chairman Ijede Local Council Development Area, Hon. Salisu Fatiu Jimoh has called on the two-distribution giant of power in the area; Ikeja Electric and Egbin Power PLC to improve on their operations as the people are left with epileptic power supply that has now become nightmare for residents.
Hon. Salisu Fatiu Jimoh made this appeal during a stakeholders meeting held yesterday, Thursday 19th September 2019 at the Township Hall of Ijede to address the poor state of power supply in the area considering the fact that the community is playing host to a distribution facility sitting on over 624 hectares of the community’s land and to prevent the breakdown of law and order as a resultant effect.
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The community leader who expressed gratitude to Ikeja Electricity for reaching out to the Council on the need to organize such a forum, commented that it was coming at a time where the need for community members to express their various dissatisfaction cannot be over emphasized.
”The issue with Ikeja Distribution Company is one long overdue for discussion as their service is grossly below expectation and has led to the hitherto peaceful people of Ijede harboring animosity against the management of the distribution company and are on the brink of being pushed to the wall if nothing significant is done urgently.
“We are also here today to chart a way forward that will relieve our people and bring reprieve their way by ensuring that they get value for their money,” Hon. Salisu appealed.
In his final charge, the 2017 elected LCDA chairman urged the distribution companies especially Egbin Power Station to give special recognition in their recruitment exercise to any son or daughter of the soil as a Corporate Social Responsibility and urge the company to embark upon development driven-projects that will create jobs and help the host community develop in no small measure.
In his words,
“It is sad to discover that a firm like Egbin Power Limited that was given over 600 hectares of our land to operate on by our fathers is not doing enough to recruit our teeming and qualified youthful population. It is now a situation we can no longer take as the youths are getting angrier by the day and they may just one day turn back and attack us as a result of the frustration of unemployment. It is necessary that human face should be added to service of these Discos to us as the host community. We need them to be sensitive to our needs.
Mr Famoroti Rotimi, the Business Manager of Ikeja electricity Company in his address to the gathering appealed to the people to bury the hatchet on any shortcoming from the distribution company while he explained that the reason for the frequent tripping is due to the increasing population and houses in the area which has made the current line grossly insufficient to supply stable power.
On the palliative, Mr Rotimi assured that his organization will continue to maintain the existing line of distribution and encouraged the people to pay up their debts as customers on Ijede Feeder are owing over ₦200 million. He therefore called on those with the political might to influence the arrival of another line to facilitate speedy improvement.
Speaking on behalf of some of the affected residents, The President of the Ijede-Egbin Youth Forum, Mr Olumide reiterated that the right way to go about curbing the issue of epileptic distribution is to ensure that metres are issued across homes for free of charge. This initiative according to him will eradicate the era of crazy bills which he regarded as the order of the say.
He further appealed to the management of Ikeja Electric to distribute metres free of charge and urge Egbin Power PLC to up the ante in the employment of youths into juicy positions in the firm. He also in a strong voice debunked that the community owes up to the stated amount, saying it is fictitious.
“We have said it times and all over again that metering is the way to go so we can avoid these crazy bills we get monthly. With metres, we can only pay for the current we use.
“To the management of Egbin Power Station, we say that we are tired of occupying the position of cleaners in your firm. We have qualified youths amongst us and thus, we demand key position in your firm,” Olumide lamented.
In his swift response, Mr Famoroti Rotimi reiterated that whatever irregularities that have been experienced should be left in the past as it is a new dawn and that metres will be distributed in earnest to those that have applied for it.
He urged the community to go online on the firm’s website to request metres and select their convenient payment of debt schedule.
Mr Akilo, a resident of the community appealed to the distribution company to work in close synergy with both generating and transmitting firms to ensure that power supply is improved. Bills according to him, should be distributed to residents before disconnecting them.
Taking turn to express his firm’s stand, the Section Head of Corporate Communications, Egbin Power PLC, Mr. Kingsley Okotie urged community members to be patient with the firm as all hand is on deck to ensure that more is done to the community aside the recent scholarship offered.
while going into the nitty-gritty of the challenge faced in issuing metres, Mr. Okotie expressed that the major hindrance to achieving this remains the extant laws of the land that is outdated and has failed to address modern challenges. He urged community leaders not to misinform the people.
In his words,
“The major problem we have in this country is how false information can fester. As good as the idea of distributing metres for free sounds, the extant laws of our land don’t permit such and until something is done to change this narrative, the reality won’t change significantly.
“on our corporate social responsibility, we will ensure that we continue to act within our profitability capacity to give back to Ijede. Ijede is a place I hold dearly as my properties are domicile here because I am more a less a member of the community.
In reaction to an allegation raised that there are plans by Egbin Power PLC to sell power set to be distributed by the ongoing renovation of facilities made for the community to other areas, the Section Head of Corporate Communications was quick to debunk this claim, labelling it as outright falsehood.
The chairman of Ijede LCDA in his concluding remarks urged the management of Ikeja Electric Company to do something about Igbopa-London community, disconnected from power supply since 2017 due to backlogs of unpaid bills which they have started offsetting.
The programme which also featured the monthly Peace and Security meeting had in attendance key security experts like Commander of Area N Command of the Nigerian Police Force, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sonubi Ayodele, representatives from the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps, District Police Officer of Ijede, 174 Army Battalion, DSS and local vigilante groups.
The event also had in attendance, the Regent of Ijede; Chief Aliu Musediku, Odofin of Ijede: Otunba Babatunde Ogunmuyiwa, Chairman Ikorodu Local Government Area; Wasiu Adeshina, Vice-Chairman Ijede LCDA; Mrs Motunrayo Gbadebo Alogba, amongst other security personnel, traditional chiefs, LCDA officials, stakeholders and residents.
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