Sokoto Residents To Protest Over Poor Electricity

Consumers of electricity in parts of Sokoto have expressed dissatisfaction over what they described as deliberate poor treatment meted out to them by the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO).

The consumers, who gathered on Friday in their hundreds for separate meetings ahead of the planned protest in Danbuwa, Tamaje, Old Airport, Sabaru, Mabera and Kwanawa, bitterly reiterated that KAEDCO must stop exploiting them, lamenting that they are forced to pay estimated bills for darkness.

According to them, the poor electricity situation has gone beyond what they can continue to tolerate, especially since other areas in Sokoto still enjoy a minimum of 10 to 15 hours of electricity supply daily, while they hardly get 2 hours in a whole week.

Speaking ahead of the joint planned protest, Malam Ibrahim from Danbuwa, Kabiru from Old Airport, and Magori representing aggrieved Mabera customers said protest notification letters have been sent to the relevant authorities to avoid glitches.

“We have sent letters to the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), National Human Rights Commission, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Nigeria Police Force, the NSCDC, the Department of State Security, KAEDCO, and the Sokoto State Government about the planned protest.

“This protest is to tell KAEDCO that enough is enough. The protest might likely resonate in other parts of Nigeria.

“It is simply to tell the world that we cannot continue to tolerate the inhumane treatment anymore.

“For us, it is either they migrate us to a band that will give us a stable power supply or stop giving us bills for darkness.

“We will not pay any of such bills henceforth. And their staff should not try our patience with their disconnection drive. We will ensure that they get the desired treatment if they come around,” they said.

Efforts to get the actual date for the protest were met with mixed reactions, as the aggrieved KAEDCO customers said it is already contained in their letters to the relevant authorities.