Nigerians should organise themselves and resist the emerging trends where they are being compelled to be buying transformers for Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos), a group Africa Anti-slavery Coalition (AASLAC) has said.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Monday, the human rights group regretted that Nigerians were being subjected to all manner of exploitation by the Discos and they seemed to lack the collective capacity to resist these atrocities.
The AASLAC convener, Tony Masha, stated that recently residents of Bariga and its environs in Lagos State were ordered to buy new transformer by Ikeja Electric Plc “if they desire to consume the epileptic power supply in the area.”
“Customers of Ikeja Electric Plc living in part of Ilaje road,
Sanyaolu and Amodu Streets axis in Bariga were compelled recently to pay N40,000 per house to buy a transformer. Thus, there is palpable apprehension among Bariga residents that technicians from Gbagada office of Ikeja Electric Plc will start full-scale tampering of transformers in the area in order to create opportunities to extort huge sums of money from residents to buy transformers,” the group noted.
According to AASLAC, the Nigerian Electric Regulatory Commission (NERC) prohibits community and customers from buying, replacing or repairing electricity transformers, poles and related equipment used in the supply of electricity because it is not their responsibility to do so.
It regretted that electricity consumers under the Gbagada district of Ikeja Electric Plc were slammed with exorbitant and illegal estimated bills for power they do not consume.
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