Hundreds of youths from Ososo, Ojah, Ijiranmi, and neighboring communities in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria, staged a massive demonstration in Benin City, the state capital. They voiced their frustration over an eight-month power outage that has crippled economic activities, paralyzed local businesses, and stalled critical infrastructural development. The protesters marched to the Edo State Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Power, carrying placards with bold inscriptions decrying the prolonged blackout.
The demonstrators demanded immediate intervention from the state government and relevant power authorities to save their communities from total collapse. Bernard Gomina, speaking on behalf of the aggrieved residents, expressed deep concern over the severe socioeconomic hardship endured by families and local business owners. He stated that despite numerous interventions by community leaders and political representatives, the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) had continuously failed to restore power.
Another notable protester, Abayomi, expressed immense anger over what he described as deliberate corporate exploitation by BEDC. He lamented that the community had contributed huge sums of money to BEDC on several occasions for the repair of faulty transformers and equipment, but the issues remained unresolved. Abayomi also mentioned that BEDC had forced outrageous estimated bills on the community for a highly epileptic supply before throwing them into total darkness.
Donald Okogbe, the member representing Akoko-Edo II Constituency, joined the demonstration in solidarity. He confirmed that the frustration among his constituents had reached a breaking point and noted that the devastating outage affected communities across both state constituencies in the local government area. Okogbe formally appealed to the commission to explore removing the affected communities from BEDC’s coverage area entirely.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Edo State Electricity Board commended the youths for maintaining absolute order and peace during the demonstration. He disclosed that the head of the technical team for the Akoko-Edo area was already on-site conducting assessments and that intensive repair work was underway. The CEO assured everyone that power supply would be restored by Saturday.
Shittu Shaibu, Chairman of the Edo State Electricity Regulatory Commission, assured the lawmaker and the protesters that the regulatory body was actively monitoring the situation. He stated that the commission was working round the clock to resolve the issue permanently.
Commissioner for Power, Paul Osenbo, advised the community representatives to submit a formal memorandum detailing their specific complaints. He assured them that the ministry was aware of the various challenges confronting power consumers across the state and promised that these systemic issues would be addressed decisively, bringing the peaceful protest to a hopeful conclusion.
Key points
- The protest was sparked by an eight-month power outage affecting communities in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State.
- The youths demanded immediate intervention from the state government and relevant power authorities to restore power.
- The Edo State Electricity Board assured the community that power supply would be restored by Saturday.
