CSO, NUEE kick against renewal of BEDC licence, ground its activities

ABIODUN JIMOH, BENIN CITY

The Benin Electricity Distribution (BEDC) got what it bargained for on Wednesday as the Edo State Civil Organisation and National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) grounded the company activities.

The joint protest by civil society group and NUEE which shut down activities at the BEDC head office in Benin City was due to persistent epileptic power supply, failure to honour contract agreement, unfriendly labour practices, and among others.

In their admonition, the group urged the Federal Government not to renew BEDC operating license for inability to meet up the capacity to meet customers electricity demand.

The peaceful demonstration saw the protesters carrying placards with various inscriptions such as “Funke must go, FG don’t renew the license, BEDC must go, five years of continue darkness is enough, treat customers with respect, Nigerians are tired of blackout, and many others.

However, while addressing journalists during the protest, the Coordinator, Edo State Civil Society Organisation, Comrade Omobude Ahgo, said the protest was to demand that the license of BEDC should not be renewed by federal government over poor performance by the company.

“The license is a five year contract which expired today, what we are saying is that it must not be renewed, BEDC should be taken over by the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) and get a capable investors willing to do business and follow the terms of agreement.

“BEDC has not meet any of the condition on the term of the contract agreement. There was no provision of transformers, electricity, replacement of poles, wires among others,” he said.

Agho alleged that the company had rejected power from the transmission company and prefer to give the little it accepted to big companies and wealthy individuals who can pay N2 million and above into the company purse.

“There was an occasion, she said she cannot give power to a community that cannot pay N1 million bill when an individual can pay N2 million,” he said.

In the same vein, Assistant General Secretary, National Union of Electricity Employee (in charge of Lagos District), Richard Kedee, noted that the protest was as a result of the unfriendly labour practices and poor services by BEDC.

 “BEDC management does not observed labour laws, but treats workers like slaves. There is no condition of service and they are owing workers.

“Today makes it five years BEDC has been licensed, but from what we have seen privatisation of PCHN has failed and as such, we are calling on the government not to renew their license this year,” he said.

Responding, BEDC Public Relations Officer, Tayo Adekunle, accused NUEE of trying to impose the condition of service that is obtainable in the public sector on BEDC. “As as a private sector organisation, we operate in line with private sector condition of service.

“We were still engaged in that negotiation to a point that we told them what we could offer in line with the financial reality on ground. They said that it was unacceptable to them, and based on that, they would picket us.

“We wrote to the Federal Ministry of Labour on the situation and they told both NUEE and BEDC to stay action and come for a discussion next Monday. There is nothing wrong in picketing, but in the company, majority of the staff are not union members.

 “There is nothing like licence renewal, the privatisation exercise was a once-for-all transaction that transferred the assets of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria to core investors in the BEDC.

“All over the world, the power sector is a long-term investment and that even when the Bureau of Public Enterprises spoke about a review of performance, it said that it would be done in December, 2019.”