The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has condemned the attack on its task force on cash collection and metre monitoring by the family of a former commissioner in Niger State who attempted to avoid having his home verified due to the alleged installation of an illegal metre. The former commissioner was accused of installing an illegal metre at his residence.
Engineer Mahmud Keni Ndaduma, the AEDC Minna Regional Manager (RM), condemned the incident and claimed that the family used cost-cutting measures to cover the actual expense rather than paying the bill for the food they consumed.
According to him, “in the past couple of months power supply has improved in the state. I expect customers, including the state government parastatals, traditional rulers and owners of places of worship, to reciprocate. Instead, what we get are reports of attacks on staff”.
“Pay us to serve you better, we don’t intend to disconnect anybody, pay your bills in order to serve you better. Disconnection is our last option, and please don’t provoke us to disconnect you”.
Ndaduma also added, “I am not holding 100 percent trust in the field staff, but the company has its internal mechanism to deal with erring staff. We, therefore, appeal to customers to desist from patronizing saboteurs who would help them do ‘bypass’ that would only land them in trouble.”
Mr. Oshamiluyi Olugbenga, the Chief Security Officer of the region, and his team were allegedly attacked by the son of the former Commissioner in the state during a routine check of his residence, where it was discovered that the electricity meter was illegal.
It was gathered that upon demand on how the ‘illegal’ meter was acquired, the commissioners’ son, who was at home, failed to offer convincing answers. Hence the task force disconnected the residence.
The development appeared not to have gone well with the son, who rushed out with a knife which he used to threaten the AEDC staff, but he was overpowered and the knife was retrieved from him.
However, after the task force returned to their office at the UK Bello area of Minna, Olugbenga said the father, a former commissioner for agriculture in Governor Abubakar Sani Bello’s government, stormed the office while threatening to deal with any staff that attempted to disconnect his residence in the state.
According to him, the task force invited the police into the matter, and the former Commissioner and his son were invited for interrogation.
Efforts to get the state Police Public Relations Officer, PRO, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, for more information on the matter failed at the time of filing this report.