…Stage protest to EKEDC head office By Evelyn Usman Residents of FESTAC Town, under the aegis of Take Back FESTAC, on Tuesday issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) to restore electricity to the community or face mass action, following what they described as over eight months of darkness, crippling estimated billing, and the collapse of economic activities in the estate. The protesters, who marched to EKEDC’s headquarters in Marina, Lagos, said repeated engagements with the electricity distribution company had yielded no meaningful results despite assurances that power supply would improve after the completion of a transmission project. Addressing journalists during the protest, President and Convener of Take Back FESTAC and General Secretary of Take Back Nigeria, Comrade Valentine Uduebor, said the demonstration was borne out of the frustration of residents who had endured prolonged hardship.
He said: “This protest is not about me; it is about the frustration of my people. We have come all the way from FESTAC because our people can no longer continue to live in darkness. “I installed solar years ago, which powers my pumping machine and my air conditioner.
I bought a prepaid electricity token worth ₦40,000 over a year ago, and I have not bought another one since because there has practically been no electricity to consume. “So, I ask myself, how does EKEDC pay salaries? How do businesses survive if people are not consuming electricity?
We believe he is doing everything within his power to make funds available to improve electricity supply, but bureaucracy and square pegs in round holes are jeopardizing everything,” he stated. He disclosed that residents had earlier accepted EKEDC’s request for patience after officials promised that electricity would improve within five months. “They told us to give them five months.
We agreed because we believed them. Those five months have come and gone, yet our people remain in darkness. “We have held our youths and children down for long enough.
We have met with them and made our position clear. “Forty-eight hours from today, if EKEDC does not restore electricity to FESTAC, members, stakeholders, and residents will not be held…
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