Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse
Dozens of people on Wednesday besieged the premises of the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) in Dutse, the Jigawa State capital, protesting low power supply and high electricity bills.
The protesters, who marched through the state capital, came mostly from Takur, Mobile Base and Danmasara areas of the state capital.
The placard-carrying protesters stormed the KEDCO regional office, expressing their grievances in regards to the power situation in their areas.
They accused the electricity company of excessive billing, in addition to complaints about inadequate power supply, saying that their areas receive on average between one to two hours of electricity in a span of two or three days.
They further complained that every month residents of the affected areas are billed between N8,000 to N12,000 even when they aren’t supplied with electricity.
A protest leader who spoke to journalists Mr Yusuf Shuaibu said, “There is no point giving us one hour of electricity in two to three days if they would force us to pay so much at the end of each month.
“We don’t want their electricity anymore,” said Yusuf, insisting that KEDCO rectify their excessive billings to power consumers.
While addressing the protesters, the regional manager in charge of Dutse KEDCO, Mr Saidu Sambo, told them that the problem in the affected areas would soon be addressed, and that other parts of the state are also facing similar elecricity challenges.