By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The headquarters of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKDC) in Marina, Lagos was yesterday besieged by some operators of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) at the popular Sura Complex in Lagos Island.
The Sura Complex is a multipurpose business community with over 1,000 shops comprising caterers, printers, tailors, producers of locally made gift items and other MSMEs requiring constant supply of electricity for production.
During the demonstrators, the business owners said they were not happy with the poor electricity supply to their business community by the firm.
Chairman of the association of shop owners at the Sura Complex, Mrs Bunmi Ajayi, who said they had been battling poor electricity supply and exorbitant billings for many years now, explained that many of the occupants who could not afford to run generators had left because of the lack of electricity which had killed their businesses.
Mrs Ajayi said her members were dissatisfied with the service of EKDC and wanted the electricity company to hand-off the supply of electricity because the association was about getting an alternative through independent power supply.
Also, the Assistant Financial Secretary of the group, Mr Kayode Okunola, claimed that EKDC lacked the capacity to distribute the required power and should abide by the advice given by the Minister of Power, by pulling out.
During the protest, some members of the association carried placards with various inscriptions such as “EKDC, allow FG deregulation to work,” “EKDC is from public monopoly to private monopoly,” “Stop disrupting our businesses,” “Sura Association says no to EKDC, we want IPP” amongst others.
Addressing the protesters, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of EKDC, Mr Adeoye Fadeyi, said his company will reconnect the complex and supply electricity to them.
He commended the protesters for their orderly conduct and pointed out that the Disco had no intention of putting undue stress on its customers.
“We have found out that you have been disconnected, and I have tried to get the specifics of when, how and under what circumstances and what really happened.
“’We are law abiding organisation and operate in an industry that is regulated and I thank you for maintaining law and order, you have the right to come here today and protest peacefully and understand exactly what we are doing about your power,” he said.
Mr Fadeyi said his company would have robust discussions with leaders of the complex with a view to resolving the issues.
“For us, there are issues that are in court as you know which obviously I cannot speak about the details of it. There is no intent on the part of Eko Electricity and I speak on behalf of the board and management to create undue stress or put pressure on you the customers.
“There are a lot of issues and one of the things we would right away is to make sure you are reconnected while we deal with the issues on ground,” he said.
