There was mild drama at the
office of the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, on Tuesday, as the
governor walked the Managing Director (MD) of the Benin Electricity Distribution
Company (BEDC), Mrs. Funke Osibodu, out of his office for failing to meet obligations to electricity consumers in Edo
and throwing the state into darkness for weeks.
This happened when the governor
received members of the Federal House of Representatives Committee on Power led
by Hon. Daniel Asuquo, who were in Government House, on a courtesy visit.
The governor was surprised to see
the BEDC boss, whose name was not on the
list of expected guests to Government House, but embedded herself in the
National Assembly delegation, to gain
access to the governor, who has been in darkness alongside millions of Edo
State residents, for weeks.
Speaking to the delegation after
Mrs. Osibodu had left the gathering, the governor said BEDC has continued to
fail in collaborating with the state government to provide stable electricity
in the state, instead the company has posed as an obstacle to meeting the goal.
“BEDC has been an obstacle all
the way. They will not provide electricity and will not allow you to get
alternative sources of power. The state will not allow it,” the governor said.
According to him, “As Governor of
Edo State, we have lost confidence in BEDC. We don’t want them here. We are in
darkness. Let us remain in darkness until we find people who are capable of
delivering electricity. This is our
position.”
The governor said despite the
fact that the state generates about 600 to 700 megawatts of electricity, the
people are still in darkness, wondering how he is expected to explain the irony
to the people, who are well aware that they produce a substantial amount of
electricity in the country.
He noted that BEDC has failed to
recognise that they have to be patriotic and responsible to the state and the
country but instead they have been noncommittal
about the issue of power
distribution.
“To assist, we set up electricity
committee across the local government areas chaired by the Deputy Governor of
the state, Rt. Hon. Philip Shaibu, with BEDC as member to understand the
challenge. But BEDC frustrated our resolve to finding a lasting solution to the
issue of providing electricity to our people.”
Earlier, Chairman of the House of
Representatives Committee on Power, Hon. Daniel Asuquo, said they were in the
state for an oversight function on the activities of BEDC and other players in
the electricity value chain.
He said Edo State consumes half of
daily power supply under the BEDC, noting that the state has the highest number
of consumers on the network, which makes it critical to engage with the
governor and people of the state on the level of service delivery by players in
the value chain.
“We are here to see how to
intervene to ensure that you deliver on your electioneering promises to the
people of Edo State as you are answerable to them,” Hon. Asuquo said.
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