Residents of Janya’u community on the outskirts of Gusau, the state capital of Zamfara, staged a massive protest on Thursday at the State headquarters of the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KADCO).
Their primary demand was for an immediate restoration of power to their community.
Addressing journalists, Mustapha Janya’u, the leader of the group, alleged that the distribution company had failed to replace the vandalized transformer that supplies electricity to their community.
Janya’u explained that after waiting for an excessive period of time, the residents took it upon themselves to collectively purchase a new transformer. To their dismay, however, KADCO installed the transformer but refused to connect it to their homes.
“We have been pleading with the management of the electricity utility company to provide us with electricity, which they have refused, for reasons unbeknownst to us,” Janya’u expressed.
“It is not our responsibility as consumers to buy transformers, particularly when we are already paying for our electricity consumption,” he further added.
He attributed this indifferent attitude on the part of the electricity distribution company officials as the catalyst for the protest.
When contacted, Abdulrasheed Mohammed, the Regional Manager of Operations, admitted that it was indeed not the responsibility of the electricity consumers to purchase transformers.
Mohammed explained that there are specific procedures to be followed before reconnection can take place. He emphasized that whilst the community members had purchased the transformer, they failed to adhere to the required processes for reconnection.
According to him, the authority insisted that all connections within the area must be legal, asserting that over half of the consumers in the vicinity had not connected their electricity with the company’s approval.
Despite this, Mohammed did state that the company was prepared to restore electricity to the community members if they were willing to cooperate fully with the company.
