Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has expressed displeasure with the power supply by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to Edo State, saying that it posed threat to security in the state.
He said, “There are a couple of concerns. Sometimes, we have seen some protests, some violent reactions and obstructions and stories about properties being stolen and vandalized, and every day, I am confronted with protests by various communities who are in the dark, either their transformer is not working or it has broken down. There are bills people are paying even without light, or they are being over-billed based on estimates as they have no meters.
“Even the House of Assembly has just spoken to me that they need to spend some money to set up a sub-station that will give more regular power supply. Right now, they are getting less than four hours a day in their residential area. That is an arm of government. They have made a request for a substantial investment for us to provide part of the cost in a distribution chain, and when we provide that and they have access to power, how do we get our fund?
“Recently, the commissioner of Police wrote to me that the police headquarters is in the dark, and that is a serious issue because in the police headquarters, we have cells where there are inmates. And of course, you have offices. Police is 24 hours operation. Now, the transformer has broken down, and the police headquarters is in the dark. They have informed Benin DISCO, and weeks, months, no solution. Now out of desperation, I have to buy, using tax payers’ money to provide a transformer to the police headquarters.
“I mentioned this because we used Edo people’s money to buy transformer, and you told me now that they have power. Now, what happens when you generate bills?
