High Electricity Tariffs: Angry Residents Embark On Street Protest

It is becoming common for Nigerians across different states to keep paying high electricity tariffs while not getting commensurate service.

A group of residents which couldn’t keep up with the inconvenience and cheating has however decided to speak up in a much more profound manner.

They, residents of Umuahia in Abia State on Tuesday took to the streets to protest this same challenge of high Electricity Tariffs.

They accused the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company of imposing high tariffs on them, calling for a stop.

The residents who acted under the auspices of Concerned Umuahia Residents, captured their agitations in placards some of which read:

‘We cannot pay ₦50,000 bill,” “

“Return electricity bill to status quo,”

“Electricity bill is now minimum wage.”

From the EEDC office in Umuahia, the protest march moved to the Abia State Government House with the protest leader, Chukwuemeka Ozugbo, stating residents  could no longer bear the high electricity tariffs.

He said there had been a sharp increase in electricity charges with households which previously paid about N10,000 monthlly now getting bills between N50,000 and N70,000.

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Worse, he said, is that power supply had not improved.

Though the state governor Alex Otti, was not on ground to address the protesters,  Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities, Mr Ikechukwu Monday, assured residents that their grievances would be communicated to him.