For almost two weeks, residents of Odo-Eran community in Itire Ikate LCDA, Lagos have been living in darkness as due to a disagreement between the residents and Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) Ijesha Undertaking over the status of a new 550kva transformer installed at Jacob Adeleye Junction, near the community’s market.
It was learnt that the DisCo had attempted to remove the transformer and replace it with a 36-year-old equipment, but the community resisted.
NewsGazette gathered that some technical personnel from Ijeshatedo Undertaking had on Monday September 27 attempted to remove the transformer but after sensing the mood of the people disconnected power to Jacob Adeleye, Olorogun, Adebayo Rufai streets, Trepower Avenue as well as Odo-Eran market that use the transformer, they (EKEDC) disconnected the transformer from a feeder pole and plunged the residents into darkness.
It was gathered that the former technical manager, one Mr. Omoniyi had in his handover note stated that the transformer does not belong to the communities but that “Marina borrowed the transformer to the residents.”
Omoniyi, it would be recalled led the failed attempt to remove the transformer on Thursday, August 19, 2021.
A resident who identified himself as Tayo told our correspondent that the action was taken barely one week after electricity consumers of the affected communities had paid the outrageously inflated bill for the month of August.
Marketer, Onyedikachi, lies to residents
The bills, according to him, was increased from N9, 000.00 in some cases in July to as much as N20, 000.00 in August when the residents did not have up to 10-hour power supply each day during the month.
While on revenue drive between Wednesday, September 22 and Friday, September 24, the marketer, Mr. Ugwu Onyedikachi Christian, lied to the residents who complained about the exorbitant bills they were given and forced to pay that “it is the government that does the billing” adding that “the bill for September will be much.”
He also told the residents that electricity tariff had been reviewed upward
Omoniyi, Ijeshatedo Undertaking in bribe scandal
NewsGazette gathered that Ijesha Undertaking where Omoniyi served technical manager before he was transferred had allegedly collected N800, 000 from a community in Ijesha and promised to give them a new transformer.
“The people had been breathing down their neck for a long time but when Odo-Eran got a new transformer from Marina, Ijeshatedo felt that they could trick us and exchange the transformer.
“They (Ijeshatedo) said Marina borrowed us a transformer. I have never heard about that before. Okay, show us the document which states that the transformer was borrowed but they will not.
“When we asked them to evacuate the old equipment for repair; they did not respond. They were asking for money, N500, 000.00 before they would even evacuate the equipment.
“We wrote to Marina and they gave us a new transformer, Ijeshatedo would now want to replace it with an old one which was installed around 1985. This is injustice.
“If they had collected money from people somewhere with a promise to give them a new transformer, they are in the system; they should go to their warehouse or store to get a new transformer and allow us to have some peace,” said a CDA chairman of one of the communities who did not want his name disclosed.
He also revealed that the CDAs lodged a complaint at the Itire police station about the callousness of the EKEDC staff.
“They DPO invited the EKEDC management for a meeting at the Itire Police Station. The new manger told the DPO that he had in the handover note by his predecessor that the transformer was borrowed to the community. The DPO therefore advised the EKEDC management and the CDA leaders to go to Marina and sort out the matter. Since then, Ijeshatedo has not made any move to comply. We are waiting to meet with the staff at Marina,” he added.
The latest offensive, Tayo said, “is an attempt by staff at Ijeshatedo Undertaking to provoke us to wrath so that they will have justifiable reason to take away the transformer by force.”
Tayo also alleged that EKEDC had caused the consumption meter mounted on the transformer to malfunction “so that they can sit in the comfort of their office and concoct figures.”
He said when the meter was installed some time in 2020 it functioned up to August of that year “before it went haywire.”
“There was an agreement between the CDA and Ijeshatedo that there will be joint reading of the meter before preparation of bills for the month. It work for a few months but on one occasion, the technical staff came to work on the old transformer. After they left, the meter stopped working and the bills started hitting the rooftop.
“When they grudgingly fixed the new transformer, we never cared to bring up the consumption meter issue because they are livid with anger that the CDAs bypassed them to get the meter from the EKEDC headquarters.
Efforts to speak with EKEDC proved unsuccessful as the spokesman for the DisCo, Mr. Godwin Idemudia, did not pick calls put through to him.
NewsGazette had reported that a 300kv transformer at Jacob Adeleye junction which supplies electricity to residents of the four streets and a market packed up on June 9 to which the community development associations under the aegis of ‘Concerned Odo-Eran Community Residents attached to Jacob Adeleye Transformer’ informed Mushin and Ijeshatedo to evacuate the faulty equipment and provide a new one.
EKEDC Ijeshatedo Undertaking was alleged to have demanded for N500, 000 ‘counterpart fund’ from the residents before evacuating the old one when it was faulty and unserviceable
“Initially they asked for N500, 000 before they would evacuate the old transformer. We demanded to know what the money was meant for; whether they would not be bringing electricity bills after paying the ‘counterpart fund’ but they did not provide any answer,” one of the CDA chairmen told NewsGazette last in July.
As Ijesha did not respond, the CDAs approached Marina which, within a short time approved a new 500kv transformer to replace a 300kv geriatric one which the residents said was installed around 1985.
Newsgazette learnt that the residents exchanged 22 correspondence with Marina before Marina approved the transformer.
Since the new equipment was installed, EKEDC officials have used every trick in the book to replace the transformer with an old one, but to no avail.
