By joshua 
A Lokoja base human rights activists and Chief Executive Director, Equally Rights and Justice For All, Dr Abu Shamsudeen Bawa, has described the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company in Lokoja as fraudulently playing on the patience of the people of the State.
Mr. Shamsudeen in a statement issued to Newsmen, described the N17,000 and N21,000 bill allocated to consumers in the State capital in November without commensurate increase in electricity supply as criminal, pointing out that AEDC is biting more than it can chew.
Reacting to the November 2022 bill which Mr. Shamsudeen described the bill as unreasonable, said it is unfortunate that this is only happening in the State, all because the AEDC seem to have taken for granted the civil nature of the people, described the astronomical increase in the billing system from N8000 in the last five months to N17000 as inhuman of the Discos.
Mr. Shamsudeen described as unfortunate that previous bills with N13,000 that the people even complained about when supplies was around 16hrs is now N17,000+ with less than 8hrs
supplies for most part of the town apart from feeder 1 and the special 33KVA lines, wondered how the pricing was arrived at.
While pointing out that efforts and request by consumers to have there houses metered by AEDC failed owing to the inability for the electricity company to make prepaid meters available, called on the consumers to rise in defense of there rights by seeking civil and legal redress, said enough of this nonsensical behavior by AEDC.
Mr. Shamsudeen called on the Kogi State Government under the leadership of Gov Yahaya Bello to rise to the occasion in defense of the citizens, lamented that the astronomical increase in electricity bills, couple with the State having worst indices of rising inflation in 2022, has brought untold hardship on the people.
While pointing out that people on prepaid metres in the same month of November did not exhaust there prepaid unit of N5000, described the satanic bill allocated to Kogi citizens in November as what he calls ” see finish” in the local parlance by AEDC.
Mr. Shamsudeen disclosed that aside his petition to the consumer protection Council, the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Council, he would also head to court to challenge the billing system that is wicked, devilish, aimed at impoverishing citizens of the State.
While maintaining that the bills like the ones previously distributed by AEDC, grossly do not reflect the services purportedly provided by the Disco during the said period under review, said information available is to make average bill N20,000 and N25000 by December, 2022.
The Activists described the November bill coming at the heels of poor supply in the month under review as unacceptable, expressed worries that AEDC would still go ahead to increase the payment of bills by 35% from N13,000 to N17000, 17,000 to N21,000 in a month that power supply was generally discouraging and extremely inadequate.