By Praise Chinecherem
Tension is mounting in Oba, Idemili South Local Government Area, Anambra State, following alleged plot to stage mother of all protests in the area over purported increase of electricity bill from #30,000 last February, 2025 to #103,000 and above this March, per consumer in a residential building by Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC.
Consequently, arrangements are in top gear by the residents of the area to ensure that the protest will serve as deterrent to EEDC that is accused of worsening the deteriorating health condition of the people.
Fielding questions from newsmen,, the spokesperson of the residents, Nze Dozie Nweke, who is the immediate past President General, PG, Oborji Akanano Union, Oba, warned that, the people will be unstoppable in this protest because of deliberate increase in the electricity bill payment on monthly basis by EEDC.
“My name is Nze Dozie Nweke, former President General of Mpama in Akanano Aborji, Oba , the protest is to notify EEDC what we are passing through in their hands. When it was in the hands of National Electric Power Authority, NEPA, we were paying well and the system they were using then they are still using it now.
“When it was transferred to EEDC, we were paying well and suddenly the bill rose from #5,000 to #7,500 to #15,000, # 28,000 and now to #30,000 per residential consumer.
” We thought it will be well till some days ago, they brought bill of #103,000 plus to me and other places they gave them #109,000 ,#110,000, someone who cannot feed himself with three square meals in a day and you are giving him such an amount of money to pay , Forget that by right government is the one that is suppose to pay that money for the people as they take care of lives and property or reduce the money to be easy for them to pay.
” What EEDC did is to give us bill that will break our hearts which we will hardly pay, EEDC increased it to thousands of naira and their agents when they came to give us the new bill told us that they were even surprised on the whopping sum of money to be paid by residential consumers.
“We don’t have any factory in this village, not even A.C or anything that will consume light , does it mean that we are paying for all Southeast or what. They are giving me multiple bills every month at a high cost.
“We have made several meetings in respect of this bills and found out that it is difficult to listen to us and we therefore resolved to embark on mother of all protests after one week if they do not reverse to the #30,000 we are managing to pay in pains.
“In my village some have pre-paid meters, if they want us to start using it, let them share the pre-paid meters to every one of us, if we are paying #100,000 plus, that means it is #1.something million in a year. Our question is, do we have any factory, or is there any other thing combined to this bills, what is our offence. Is it not better we use the #1. something Million and Install Solar energy and forget about EEDC because if you don’t have light they still collect money from you.
“We want to use this opportunity to tell our working governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo to intervene because leaders suppose to know the kind of pains people they rule go through, the pains are too much on us, we cannot take it,” he vowed.
