Agitation in Benin: Protesters disrupt BEDC townhall meet

– A townhall meeting put together by Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) has been disrupted

– The disruption was orchestrated by members of the civil society organisations

– Electricity consumers have express their disappointment at the power supply of power in various areas of the city

A town hall meeting organised by the BEDC on Wednesday, May 11, was partially brought to a halt by members of civil society organisations who were prevented from gaining entrance into the hall.

Protesters disrupt BEDC townhall meeting in Benin.

The protesters who had earlier taken their protest to the headquarters of the BEDC, along Akpakpave Road, stormed the venue of the meeting at the Oba Akenzua Cultural Centre, singing songs and carrying placards with various inscriptions.

The security operatives however shut the entrances to the venue of the meeting and prevented the protesters from gaining entrance to the venue.

Irked by their inability to enter the venue, some of the protesters shouted warnings to those inside and threw sachet water and other items through the window.

READ ALSO: 2016 budget: Buhari dumps security, see the ministry with the highest allocation (chart)

Electricity consumers at the town hall meeting had expressed their disappointment at power situation in their respective areas, lamenting that they have suffered untold hardship in the hands of the power distribution company.

Top among their complaints were over-billing, disconnection of power supply to communities, inability to procure prepaid meters, refusal to repair damaged transformers and poor power supply.

In the same vein, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state has disclosed that members of the state House of Assembly have less than four hours of electricity daily in their residential areas.

Oshiomhole made this known when he met with the management of BEDC at the state government House on Thursday, March 24. According to him, the low power supply by the BEDC poses a threat to the security of lives and properties in the state.

Following the signing of the 2016 Appropriation Act, last week by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Federal Government is set to inject N99 billion to revamp the country’s power sector through the federal ministry of power, works and housing, out of the the sum of N433 billion which was appropriated for the ministry.

The Guardian reports that it is not immediately clear how much difference the N99 billion budget can make, but the generation and distribution firms in the country have expressed fears that the planned growth of the sector may be stunted by a lack of required liquidity even as the ministry plans to introduce measures to tackle the problems inherent in the sector’s operations.

Although government plans to complete 47 transmission projects in the fiscal year, step up work on Zungeru hydro power plant, among others, the concerns about the ability of operators to resolve the liquidity issue is growing.

The ministry, however, hopes to unveil an energy mix plan to boost electricity supply and says it has also initiated moves to raise a Federal Government-secured bond using the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET).

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