From Nweke Nweke, Onitsha
Irate youths from Obosi, Idemili North Local Government Area, Anambra State last Monday mobilized and besieged the sub office of Electric Distribution Company, EDDC in the town over what they described as reaping the entire town dry by the staff of EDDC without allowing the citizenry to consume what they are paying for.
It was however hectic for the staff of EDDC when the youths arrived in violent protest as some of them took cover under their tables while the office was under lock and key, leaving the staff to almost suffocated inside the office.
The youths allegedly armed with different types of war materials, chanting all sort of war songs in search of the bills’ distribution personnel of the company accused to have been distributing bills in every home in Obosi even while the town has remained in darkness for over two months now. It was gathered that on the visit to the office by the angry youths, they allegedly cut down flowers planted in the front of the office of EDDC while the staff took cover while some escape through the back door to avoid been slaughtered.
It was gathered that despite the inability of EDDC to restore the line that feeds Obosi town, particularly Little Wood Estate village, the filed workers of the company gangs up not only to distribute bills but go about disconnecting lines at same time as well as extorting money from their unsuspecting victims who bribe them not to cut their wires .
The protest, according to an eye witness account was aimed at slaughtering some of the staff of EDDC especially the bills’ distribution staff accused to have allegedly raked Obosi Kingdom of their hard earned money through electricity bills’ distribution even as it was alleged that any staff posted to Obosi town by the defunct Power Holding Company, PHCN now EDDC ends up becoming millennia over night.
One of the youths of the town under the condition of anonymous said they were angered on the activities of the staff of EDDC. “We are provoked because for over two months now, Little Wood Estate has no light but yet, bills from the office of the fraudsters have remained constant. Any family who fails to pay for the energy they never consumed are forced to bribe EDC staff or lose their wires as the disconnecting staff are on duty every just to defraud our people” He said.
Alleging that Obosi sub office of EDDC has defrauded the law-abiding citizens of the town on the pretext of Pre-paid meter application, the youths of the town however threatened that the best way to curtail the excess of EDDC staff in Obosi was to keep the corpse of one or two staff in the front of their office, claming that this will serve as a deterrent to others.
Speaking when contacted, a staff of EDDC, Obosi sub office who never wanted her name in print said the fault is not from them, attributing the epileptic power supply in Obosi as a result of the failure of Enugu station not feeding the town with adequate power supply while her male counterpart accused Awada Obosi power station for not feeding Obosi inland town of adequate power supply.
When contacted, the tradition ruler of the town, His Majesty, Igwe Chidubem Iweka, Eze Obosi who spoke through the Palace Secretary, Nze Shederack Igwebuike Okenwa cautioned their subjects not to take laws into their hands by doing the right thing with wrong notion, calling on EDDC to brace up and correct the entire anomalies that is provoking his subjects to anger.
