Aggrieved residents of Rumuodumaya in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, stormed the office of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company PHED, along SARS road on a protest over epileptic power supply.
The protesters who went traditional demanded immediate restoration of power, accusing PHED of subjecting them to complete darkness since June, 2025, despite their compliance in paying electric bills.
To demonstrate their grievance, they blocked the PHED office entrance with dead fowl, pot and other traditional symbols while displaying placards with inscriptions such as “PHCN pity for us”, “Rumuodumaya people are asking for their right”, “No light, no peace”, “Rumuodumaya clan needs prepared meter”, “enough is enough, light no dey, bills dey come”.
The Rumuodumaya residents lamented that the electricity situation had been terrible for over eight months and that despite continued billing of over N35,000 monthly, there has not been any improvement, rather, the blackout persisted.
They also condemned what they described as estimated and inconsistent billing, noting that efforts made to resolve the issues proved abortive.
In an interview with TPCN, the youth chairman of the community, Mr Frank Uchewall, who led the protest revealed that, “we have made several efforts, including sending delegations and appeals through traditional leadership to resolve the issue before resorting to public demonstration.
“Our aim for this peaceful demonstration is to draw their attention to this unfair treatment against the community and its people. We have been on blackout since June last year. We carried out several investigations to know whether there was a fault in the control room, but we were informed that everything is working. It appears they choose who to give light to.
“This community hosts PHED facilities free of charge, including the one on SARS Road and another opposite the council. We are also hosting government facilities. We are asking: why the total blackout. What is our offence? We are aware that PHED authorities have announced on social media that prepaid meters are being distributed free of charge to communities, but ours was bypassed. We want to know why.
“We have been peaceful since 7:00 a.m. We sent delegates before now and even our king invited them, but they did not honour the invitation. We are here to demand answers and restoration of power. The weather is harsh, and the situation is frustrating.”
Also speaking, the women leader of Rumuodumaya Clan, Edith David, said the community had endured months without electricity, with the situation deteriorating since the beginning of the year.
She explained that, “we have not been having light for a long time, but since this new year it has been worse. In the past two to three weeks, there has been no light at all, yet bills are still coming. The bills they bring are too high for us to pay. We use postpaid meters, not prepaid, and sometimes they just write any amount; ₦30,000, ₦35,000 or ₦40,000, even in months when there is no supply.
“When we pay half, they still disconnect us and insist we must pay everything. We are here for a peaceful protest. We need light. If we have electricity and we are consuming it, we will be happy to pay. But they are billing us for what we did not consume. The officials have not addressed us directly. One spoke with our youth president, but it seems the explanation was not accepted, which is why we are still here.”
As at the time of filling this report, PHED had not addressed the protesters.
