Months of BLACKOUT: Egan Communities Set for a Showdown with Ikeja Electric (IE)

Following over one month of total blackout in Egan communities area of Ikotun-Igando LCDA of Alimosho Federal Constituency, the Joint Community Development Association (JCDA) and Community Development Associations (CDAs) have risen to embark on a Peaceful Protest on Monday 7th August 2017.
Speaking to our correspondent on telephone, one of the leaders of the communities, Comrade Bayo Ogunleye said that Ikeja Electric (IE) has continually levied undue hardship on the residents of Akesan-Obadore, Afolabi, Adexson down to Olorunfemi communities in Egan. He noted that information filtered to the community that their communities have been removed from the national grid following a perpetual blackout of over a month and still running.
He also stated that the community made every effort to enquire from IE for the confirmation of the grapevine but they (IE) failed to respond adequately. In his words “ we are tired of IE and if truly they have disconnected us from the grid they should be bold to officially communicate to us with a letter stating such; that will enable us to source for other options but IE has vehemently refused. IE has subjected us to second slavery with their lack of power supply, lack of metering the communities despite directives by the Acting president Prof Yemi Osibanjo and that of the Minister for Power, Work and Housing Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) respectively to the Discos not to disconnect any customer that is not metered, IE continually has continues issuing the communities with crazy and estimated bills and constantly rebuffed the directive even without power supply.
The community is saying Enough is Enough to all these vicious treatment from the Disco and we have set up a protest committee that have come up with a peaceful protest plan that will be executed on Monday 7th August 2017; the protest will commence by our convergence at their undertaking office in Igando from where we will move to their Head Office at Alausa with a copy of our letter of protest dropped in the office of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and another with the Lagos State house of Assembly. We have also agreed that every protester should wear a white top with any other colour of trouser or skirt.
The aim of this peaceful protest is to barricade the office of IE for the whole day and to let them know that we have rights as Nigerian and IE customers.” He reiterated that the protest will involve every resident of the affected communities.
This protest will be coming days after the Lagos State government held a meeting with Nigerian Electric Regulation Commission (NERC) on the need to decentralize power generation to states so as to breach the gap in power generation as Lagos State is geared towards generating power through her IPP and other embedded power companies.
Also it will be recalled that the minister for Power, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) had in April sighted that individuals and communities have the right to opt for their preferred distribution companies which has not yielded any result according to an energy specialist Engineer Andrew Idowu who said there are lots of bottlenecks that need to be removed by NERC before any embedded energy company can commence generation and distribution.
Efforts to reach the head of communication of Ikeja Electric on telephone did not yield any result as he did not pick his calls while his reply to the SMS sent to him which he acknowledged and promise to respond to tomorrow i.e. today (Saturday) is still being awaited as at press time.