Aloysius Attah, Onitsha

A civil rights group, International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Intersociety, has called for the sack of the network managers of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) in Ogbaru, Onitsha and Ogidi for plunging residents of the area into total darkness in the past 30 days.

Intersociety in a statement released in Onitsha by its key officials: Emeka Umeagbalasi, Chinwe Umeche, and Samuel Kamanyaoku, took a swipe at the network managers and members of their management team including the “33KV” and “11KV” feeder managers insisting they must not go unpunished for plunging over 700, 000 residents, 10,000 family heads and 20,000 electricity consuming business outlets into darkness for 30.

The group noted that for the past 30 days, the Onitsha, Ogbaru and Ogidi residents under the EEDC’s “11KV” and “33KV” feeder lines had not had power supply.

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“The residents included those of Awada, Ugwuagba, Oba, Odume, Fegge, Odoakpu, Fegge Housing, Omagba, Woliwo, Okpoko, Nkutaku, Iyiowa, Odo-Rubber, Okpotu-Uno, Odekpe, Atani and so on, with residence capacity of over 700,000 citizens including 10,000 family heads and 20,000 electricity consuming business outlets

“First were the residents under “11KV” line. They were plunged into total (24hrs) darkness for 22 days and it was only when information got to the three EEDC districts over the imminence of mass protests that the host, the Ogbaru EEDC reached out to its Enugu Public Affairs Department and got same to issue a belated statement a construction company of “severing the “11KV” line supplying power to its customers.” The power was only restored to the “11 feeder line” on Sunday, 1st March 2020, after over three weeks of total blackout. And despite the restoration, the affected residents still encounter power epilepsy.

“As if that was not enough, the Onitsha, Ogbaru, and Ogidi residents under EEDC’s “33KV” line, popularly called “Asaba Line” were plunged into another round of total blackout for eight days since Tuesday, Feb 25, 2020. The power was restored to the line just a few hours ago today, being March 4, 2020; yet the line is still experiencing “off and on” or “break-and-quench.” Under one hour, it was taken and brought back for six times. Before the latest round of total blackout against the residents under the “33KV” line, the affected residents who live in Iyiowa and Odo-Rubber layouts as well as Okpotu-Uno and Atani, all in Ogbaru; and Oba and Awada in Idemmili North and Idemili South, etc have been experiencing unsteady power supply.”

The group put the total losses residents incurred in the blackout to nothing less than N10bn, which included capital and profit losses in businesses, water supply, healthcare, sewage and waste management and general environmental pollution and degradation.