By Ighomuaye Lucky. O
The federal government has given the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) Plc the nod to publish names of electricity consumers owing the company in its franchise states of Edo, Delta, Ekiti and Ondo with the view of remaining in business and serving its customers efficiently.
The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu gave the approval when he visited the management of the BEDC in Benin City.
He said he has no problem with the company publishing the names of debtors because electricity is not free.
Adelabu said if the presidency could be disconnected from the power source for owing and the president ordered them to go and pay the debt and that there was no offense, adding that, he sees no reason why others will not pay for their consumptions.
The Minister said that for them to remain in business and serve their customers, they need money to do so.
“I will not stop you from disconnecting organization or individuals owing.
“I am not going to stop you from publishing the name of the debtors. Nigerians need to know the truth. If you want to publish the names of those owing, you can go ahead and do so, no offense at all “, Adelabu said.
While decrying the high rate of energy theft in the country, Adelabu maintained that the government will soon be sponsoring bills criminalizing it.
He added that the government of president Bola Tinubu is in a hurry to deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians, to improving power supply to all homes.
He also assured that he will advocate that most federal government projects that are either abandoned or ongoing should be completed substantially before embarking on a fresh one in order to avoid unnecessary wasting of resources and having so many abandoned projects on ground.
Earlier, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of BEDC, Mr. Deolu Ijose said that some hotels and churches are bypassing their meters.
He said some of the hotels use air-conditioners and water heaters but always bypassing their meters, causing the company to run at lost.
Mr. Ijose said that the company is poised to serve its franchise states better by improving power supply to them.
Ijose said that the company has made tremendous progress, reconnected communities to light and have constructed a lot of feeders in its franchise states.
