Residents of Akinola and Aboru communities in Alimosho LGA of Lagos state have protested their “forceful migration” to the Band A category by Ikeja Electric Distribution Company.
The residents took to the streets on Monday carrying
placards with inscriptions like ‘re-migrate our communities away from band A’,
‘scrap all bands’, ‘affordable tariff reduces cost of living’, among others.
During the protest, some residents said they can no longer
afford to pay N227 per kilowatt-hour (kwh) for electricity.
In April 2024, the National Electricity Regulatory
Commission (NERC) approved an increase in the electricity tariff for customers
in the Band A classification — from N66 to N225 per kwh.
The tariff hike attracted public outcry and calls for its
reversal.
Customers under the Band A category are expected to have a
minimum of 20 hours of electricity in a day, band B category is 16 hours, band
C is 12 hours, band D is 8 hours, and band E is 4 hours.
Speaking with journalists during the protest, Wale Famutimi,
a community leader, said Ikeja DisCos migrated the communities to the premium
category last year without their notice.
Famutimi said some residents can no longer afford to buy
electricity units because the abrupt hike in electricity costs.
The community leader said those who do not have pre-paid
metres are being asked to pay “unreasonably” high estimated electricity bills.
He added that residents are demanding a reversal to the band
B classification.
“Many people in our communities cannot afford electricity
tariff of band A. When you buy N1,000 worth of units, you will receive four
units, which cannot even last for 24 months,” Famutimi said.
“We want Ikeja DisCos to take us back to band B
classification. We did not ask them for band A.
“Because of band A, a lot of residents have stopped using
electricity since they cannot afford it. We are begging Ikeja DisCos to come
and return us to band B.”
Similarly, Abiola Ogunnaike, chairperson of Mercury Estate
in Aboru, said the communities had written to Ikeja DisCos on numerous
occasions over the issue.
“This band A and B categories are just scam. We don’t want
band A. The tariff is too much for us here,” she said.
“Many people cannot
afford the tariff because of the situation of the country like unemployment,
high cost of food stuff, and other things.”
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