Residents of Oshodi, Mafoluku, Shogunle, and Ewu-Tuntun in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area of Lagos State took to the streets on Wednesday (yesterday, October 30), gathering at the Ikeja Electric (IE) Okota business unit in a peaceful protest.
They called for an end to estimated billing practices and demanded the installation of prepaid meters to provide fair billing for their electricity consumption.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that protesters held placards with messages expressing frustration over inflated bills despite unreliable power supply in their communities. Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “No to estimated billing,” “No to meter selling,” “All crazy bills must be reversed,” “Our communities demand prepaid meters,” and “No disconnections by IE enforcement teams until further notice.”
Other messages included, “No to epileptic power supply,” “No more disconnection without court order,” “No artificial inflated charges,” “Billing for nonexistent or removed analogue meters is prohibited,” and “We demand clear communication on billing and payment procedures.”
Mr. Abdul-Rauf Olowora, the spokesperson for the protesters, voiced the collective frustration, saying that IE’s failure to provide prepaid meters had led to hardship for many residents and businesses. He emphasized the need for transparency and fairness in the company’s billing system.
“In some areas in Mafoluku, there’s no electricity, yet we receive bills as high as N150,000, N183,000, even N200,000 per building,” Olowora stated. “This is unacceptable. We’re here to tell them enough is enough. We won’t keep paying for darkness.”
He further criticized IE’s categorization system, saying, “We don’t want anything labeled as MD 1, Band A, Band B, or Band C in our communities. These tactics are used to exploit everyday Nigerians, and we’re saying no more.”
Residents hope that this protest will prompt action from Ikeja Electric to address their demands for prepaid meters and bring an end to what they see as unfair billing practices.
