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Help, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company is robbing us

By Eniola Daniel
06 July 2018   |   3:38 am
Sir: From crazy estimated bill, to paying for darkness, fixing transformer’s cables, buying electric poles by residents, I think keeping quiet and praying to God to help solve the problem will only make the matter worse.   After years of silent over the situation of power supply in my area, under the Ikeja Electricity Distribution…

Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company

Sir: From crazy estimated bill, to paying for darkness, fixing transformer’s cables, buying electric poles by residents, I think keeping quiet and praying to God to help solve the problem will only make the matter worse.  

After years of silent over the situation of power supply in my area, under the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) and after a series of calls to the company’s branch office in my area, over power situation that customer power should get to wake up
 
Not long ago, specifically, March 2018, a cable and fuse in the transformer on my street in Afariogun, Oshodi got burnt and the IKEDC office was notified after waiting for three days without attending to the issue.

While waiting for the officials, I spoke to one of the officials of the power company in charge of the business unit in the area, and he promised to check and rectify the problem.

Five days later, none of the workers bothered to check, expecting residents to contribute to fix the transformer as usual.
 
After eight days of total blackout, in an area where power is restored only two or three times a week and only at night, the officials came to check the transformer, took photograph, left and never came back.

Then the next day, I placed a call informing my contact that we were still expecting them to get the power restored but he told me he was already on leave that there was nothing he could do, promising to get back to me which he never did.

After waiting for 13 days, visiting the branch office without positive response, the residents contributed N47,000 to get the power restored.

This is not the first time we contributed to fix electricity, despite the company’s refusal to give out prepaid metres.
  
This problem is not peculiar to my area but every other area under the distribution company.

IKEDC does not care about what happen to falling poles or ‘dangling’ cables. We always contribute to put things right.

Our contributions and efforts to get things done mean nothing to them or deter them from bringing crazy bills.
  
After this ugly experience, and after fixing the light, I called this same person and he told me the company is making arrangement to buy cable and fuse, this was after fifteen days.

Sir, as it is in every sector and every aspect in the country, the Nigeria weak institution has always been the root of every problem we are facing as people.

How can we as a people and a nation progress like this? How long should a body whose responsibility it is to provide us service for our hard-earned money take us for granted?
 
I certainly believe IKEDC management should take a cue from the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) whose customers complain less compare to IKEDC.
Definitely whatever the issue, the IKEDC should state

And finally I want to know why there is always power outage in Nigeria whenever it rains, because it is not like that in UK, U.S., China, Germany, and other country.

Eniola Daniel wrote from Lagos.

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