Aggrieved residents of Edo State led a march on Monday, expressing their grievances at the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), which residents have accused of poor power supply.
The residents, led by Emmanuel Ogbidi and other civil society activists, stormed the streets of Edo on Monday, bearing placards. The inscriptions on one of the placards read, “God – Let there be light. BEDC – Let there be darkness”.
Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, also joined the group. He said he was passing by when he saw the group and decided toaddress them.
Okpebholo, in his address, said the BEDC is a private entity, not a public corporation. He also assured the group that the state government would bring more stakeholders to the power sector to address the poor power supply plaguing residents of the state.

“That monopoly does not belong to one man. So, how do we do it? We have to operate the way telecom operates, bringing in different stakeholders and companies,” he said.
“We are going to have a meeting in my office tomorrow. We are bringing stakeholders together so that we can talk, engage them and see how we can bring in more investors into the business of light distribution. So when that one is done, all of us in the state will have enough light.”
In January, residents of several neighbourhoods in Benin City, the state capital, protested prolonged power outages and estimated billing.
Trending 