Residents of Wokoma, Wokoma Lane, Dim, Ovim, Obuagu, and parts of Obaziolu streets in Mile 3 Diobu, Port Harcourt, on Monday staged a protest against the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) over its failure to repair a faulty transformer that has left the area without electricity for nearly a month.
The angry protesters stormed the PHED office on Abeokuta Street, opposite the NITEL office in D/Line, around 8:30 a.m., carrying placards with inscriptions such as:”PHED: You Are Supposed To Be Agents of Light, Not Darkness,” “No Light, No Payment,” and “We Are Tired of Paying for Darkness.”
Speaking to journalists during the protest, Collins Ebo, a resident, said, “Since June 25, we’ve been in total darkness. We’ve written several letters and complaints to PHED, yet nothing has been done. That’s why we came here to protest and demand our right to electricity.”
Another protester, George Nwachukwu, recounted that the transformer had previously been vandalized but was fixed through the intervention of the former Mayor and concerned residents without financial support from PHED.
“This time, the transformer has developed another fault, which is clearly their responsibility to fix. It’s almost a month now and nothing has been done. Yet, they keep sending us bills.
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“PHED is collecting over six million naira monthly from our area without providing electricity. That’s robbery without a gun,” Nwachukwu said.
A female resident who joined the protest lamented the negative impact of the power outage on her business. “I pay my electricity bills, but I can’t preserve my food items. Everything in my refrigerator is now spoilt.”
Other protesters highlighted the discomfort caused by the outage, especially the intense heat during non-rainy days.
Our correspondent gathered that senior PHED officials later held a closed-door meeting with selected representatives of the protesters. During the meeting, PHED reportedly promised to resolve the issue and restore power within two days.
The residents, however, vowed to return with a larger protest if the electricity supply is not restored within the promised timeframe.
One Response
The issue in power outage is more or less a norm in some parts of Rivers State.
We hope those in authority do something about this.