Prepaid Metres

The residents of Ajegunle under the aegis of Ajegunle Peoples Movement (APM) in Lagos State have accused Eko Distribution Company (EKEDC) of illegal billing in the area.

The group condemned EKEDC for issuing two separate bills to single meters in many compounds in Ajegunle, including Layinka, Arumoh, Nosamu, Orodu, Tolu and Aiyetoro.

APM in a statement signed by Moshood Oshunfurewa Adebola for the organisaton, described the billing as not only an extortion but a deliberate attempt to further impoverish electricity consumers of Ajegunle, who are already struggling under the weight of severe economic hardship and the failure of governance.

It called on the EKEDC management, Apapa district, and all marketers involved to immediately recall the fraudulent bills and refrain from disconnecting power supply to any consumer based on the “fraudulent bills”. According to the group, failure to comply with this demand will result in collective community action to “resist these injustices”.

The statement reads in part, “Our investigation has revealed that this parasitic action by EKODISCO is not backed by the National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) or any extant law or regulation.

“As such, we categorically reject these fraudulent bills and state unequivocally that the community will not pay. The actions of EKODISCO are extortionist and exploitative and cannot stand.

“It is particularly disheartening to note that despite multiple national newspaper publications revealing that the Federal Government of Nigeria has provided over N21 billion for the provision of free prepaid meters, which EKODISCO has benefited from, residents of Ajegunle, particularly those subjected to this double billing, have yet to receive these meters, rather the DISCOs force consumers to pay over N110,000 for one-phase prepaid meter and over N215,000 for three-phase prepaid meter.

“We view this move by EKODISCO as an illegal strategy to increase the debt burden of Ajegunle residents, thereby creating a pretext for the company to impose fictitious conditions before granting free prepaid meters. This is an unacceptable exploitation of the people, and we shall resist it.

“We, therefore, call on the EKODISCO management, Apapa district, and all marketers involved to immediately recall these fraudulent bills and refrain from disconnecting any consumer based on the fraudulent bills. Failure to comply with this demand will result in collective community action to resist these injustices.”

“The APM remains committed to defending the rights and welfare of the people of Ajegunle and will continue to hold EKODISCO accountable for any actions that undermine the well-being of our community people,” the statement added.

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