According to their petition, instead of connecting the communities to a newly built power station, the BEDC, after collecting kickbacks and gratifications, is servicing multinational private companies with regular electricity to the detriment of the communities.
Communities in Aniocha/Oshimili constituency of Delta State have accused the management of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) of corruption and threaten to embark on what they called mass protest against the company.
According to their petition, instead of connecting the communities to a newly built power station, the BEDC, after collecting kickbacks and gratifications, is servicing multinational private companies with regular electricity to the detriment of the communities. The communities have also threatened to file a lawsuit against the electricity company if its management fails to redistribute electricity supply properly within two weeks.
In a protest letter from law firm Augustine Elikwu & Co. obtained by SaharaReporters, the communities lamented to the BEDC Managing Director in Benin City that for over six years they have remained in darkness.
The petition was copied to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Delta House of Assembly, and other authorities.
The aggrieved communities also noted that the new 320 KVA Asaba Substation, which is equipped with six feeders, is fully energized, but the BEDC is busy collecting gratifications from the multinational companies while the affected communities wallow in total darkness, failing in the company’s statutory responsibility to provide electricity supply for the area. They furthermore said that millions of naira were spent to rehabilitate their transformers and trunk lines with a view to enjoying the improved power supply from the new station.