Again, youths in Oyigbo local council area of Rivers State have been accused of frequently throwing Port Harcourt into darkness with frequent shutdown through protests.
The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) said Port Harcourt Metropolis was thrown into unwarranted darkness by fierce looking youths from Oyigbo when a federal government facility under Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, located inside Afam was forcefully shut and barricaded by them.
Not only that the station was shut down by them, according to PHED, the technical men on duty were allegedly chased away leading to their inability to transmit power to Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company for onward distribution to its customers.
On check, PHED gathered that one of the highly politically exposed persons who resides within the area was responsible for the youth’s action on the ground that his feeder was placed on load shedding.
”The parochial action of the youth is becoming habitual and very embarrassing. Recall that late last year on two occasions, the same youth from Oyigbo blocked the source of supply to Port Harcourt Metropolis”, the public Relations Officer (PRO) of PHED stated.
He said the action of the youth if unabated would continue to plunge Port Harcourt City into unnecessary darkness.
The PHED said it condemns in its entirety taking laws into one’s hand. They drew the attention of the law enforcement agencies in particular and the Rivers State Government to come to the aid of PHED and the good people of the state to intervene and put a final stop to this frequent disruption of power distribution to customers.
In a radio reaction, the caretaker chairman of the local council said the people agitated for free power supply as host community, but the House of Reps committee on power had visited Rivers State and urged the people of the region to pay for electricity supply and not demand for it as free.
Ignatius Chukwu
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