The proactive intervention by Lagos State Citizens Mediation Centre (CMC) on monday averted the brewing tension between officials of the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Centre (IKEDC) and residents of Lasori-Abuja- Ifelodun Estate Community in Ikorodu area of the state.
The community had earlier petitioned the CMC, a directorate of the state Ministry of Justice, requesting for an immediate intervention over an outrageous estimated billing by IKEDC to residents of the community.
“It is very clear from the foregoing that IKEDC comes up with arbitrary figures based on guess work,” the community said.
“The trends of those billings are very frightening ranging from ₦12,000.00 – ₦86,000.00 especially in the month of March and April 2020 and when it became clear to us that this people are not ready to stop the outrageous billing and implement the NERC regulations, we wrote series of letters to them expressing our grievances.
“We asked them to either meter us or revert to NERC billings . We were ready to dialogue with them; all our overtures to them have been embarrassingly rebuffed. Up till the time of writing of this petition we have never heard from them.”
The petition further reads ” On the 2nd of June 2020, some IKEDC officials/operators led by one Mr. Abu invaded our communities with police escorts to disconnect power from our transformers claiming they have the NERC approval. Since then, we have been plunged into utter darkness. As a result of this, hordes of small scale enterprises have either closed down or recording losses”
According to the Chairman, Lasori-Abuja-Ifedapo Estate Association, Ayodele Femi, the community had written to the IKEDC asking for the supply of prepaid metres to contain the billing which the community views as a corporate attempt to rip its residents off financially.
He added that the letter written to the IKEDC dated 2nd of June 2020 was ignored by the company instead disconnected power supply of the community from transformers.
While responding to the dispute, Director Citizen Mediation Centre, Mrs. Biola Oseni said that the centre invited the two parties, Lasori/Ifedapo Estate and officials from IKEDC for an amicable settlement.
She added, the centre resolved that the IKEDC should stop estimated billings, provide the community with prepaid meters and also restore back power supply to the community.
The Director noted that the centre was able to resolve the matter amicably without charges.