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| Image: KEDCO, Dutse Office |
By Salisu K Ismail
The residents across towns and cities in Jigawa Stata have protested against what they described as merciless hike in billing of electricity by Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) for the month of February, 2022.
The people of Jigawa State have lamented what they call injustice and ruthlessness in implementing the horrific increase in electricity tariffs at a time when the community is struggling to make ends meet.
According to reports, the increase comes at a time when the federal government has announced that it is withdrawing its subsidy on electricity in Nigeria from this month (February), which has cut back on subsidies to KEDCO's companies across the country.
NEWSKEEPER, reports that just as KEDCO officials began the distribution of the bill to household customers, People began to complain and express their displeasure over how they saw this month's (February) bill containing funds that are beyond comprehension to them.
According to the residents, from the beginning of this year (2022) we began to experience severe power shortages, which caused us to live in the dark, later we heard that the problem was caused by the interruption of the main power line in the whole country.
"Destined that, this February, the increase in electricity supply has not slowed down, despite the withdrawal of government subsidies in the power sector, KEDCO should not turn a blind eye to such a blind bill, in spite the implementation of the 100 percent electricity tariffs," they decried.
In Jigawa State, several communities have staged protests and rejected the new electricity bill until the truth prevails especially in Takur-site, Takur-Adua, G-9 Quarters, Godiya Miyetti Allah and Jigawar Tsada and Malam Inuwa Dutse Quarters, Yalwawa etc.
The rejection of the bill that marked the beginning of the protest especially in Dutse, the Jigawa state capital, led to the formation of a strong contingent from various quarters, to protest against the KEDCO outrageous house-to-house bill on customers where they (Complainers) approached office of the Company's Regional Manager in Dutse with the intermediation of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in the state to lodge their complaints and find out the reasons and the kind of arithmetics that KEDCO used to give their customers such a huge amount of billing system.
Prior to the decision, a heated debate ensued between leaders of the community protesting the increase in the electricity tariffs and KEDCO's Reginal Manager in Dutse during a visit to his office.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting with the KEDCO's RM in his office, Chairman of the joint communities that rejected the horrific electricity tariffs in Dutse, Alhaji Abdullahi Hamza Usman began by saying that they had visited the office to lodge a complaint against the new electricity bill distributed to them by KEDCO this February which have many question marks over it.
"We have taken steps to address KEDCO in order to gain understanding and intervention to avoid what could happen at a time when the public is outraged by the new bill which has crossed their minds which some see as a blow to them in such a hardship situation, It is a time of hardship every body know that, "said the leader of the protesting communities, Abdullahi Hamza.
He said, "Now that we have intervened in this matter between us and the Secretary of NERC Jigawa office and KEDCO Regional Manager Dutse, it has been decided that, all the affected customers will continue to pay the old electricity bills they had previously trusted from now until the next 6 months before the disputed overcrowding settlement is resolved."
"We are confident of reaching this agreement and will continue to work with stakeholders to resolve this issue amicably," he added.
The Chairman stressed that, "We are aware of KEDCO's harassment of customers in Jigawa, unlike in other states, we will continue to follow up until the truth is out."
In order to take action to solve the problem in easy, Leader of the joint communities appealed to KEDCO to as a matter of urgency put Meters in each house at a level that customers get satisfied with what they consumed via using the prepaid card.
Some of the complainants of the KEDCO's new bill in Dutse, Ni'ibi Bala Auwali said, "Before this controversial bill (February), we've gone up for more than half a month without electricity and later we heard that the main power line was damaged, now we'll be forced to pay for our stay in the dark" ? He asked.
Another complainant, Malam Nura Shaddadu, said with a furious face that, "I have only 2 electric bulbs in my house, I don't have a fan or a TV but this month (February) I was given a new N32,000 bill, how will I settle the bill, Iam a pensioner and my pension is not up to N25,000."
Journalists in Dutse, including a NEWSKEEPER Correspondent, contacted the KEDCO Regional Manager and the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission's Secretary (NERC) in Jigawa State on the dispute, both of whom remained silent as they all said they're not mandated to speak to the press.
However, a source close to the group, who complained about the new electricity tariff in Jigawa, said the information received from the NERC office in Dutse made it clear that in Jigawa State KEDCO was not using the government-approved electricity fixed price across the country, adding that, they have been alleging this for a long time but truth began to emerge about their many allegations with the intervention of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission in the state.
Text message put to the KEDCO Head of Corporate Communication, Mrs Ibrahim Sani Shawai was not reply as at the time of filing this report.
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