Democratic Socialist Movement

For Struggle, Solidarity and Socialism in Nigeria

By - DSM

OYO CARE REJECTS IBEDC’S APOLOGY FOR NON-SUPPLY OF ELECTRICTY

We demand compensation for the Failure of IBEDC and Darkness imposed on the People

Only re-nationalization of power sector under a democratic control and management of the elected representatives of working people can usher in efficiency

The Oyo State Chapter of the Coalition for Affordable and Regular Electricity (CARE) rejects in totality, the flimsy excuses offered by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) in its apology through a statement published on January 19, 2025. According to media reports, the IBEDC acknowledged its failure to provide the expected number of hours of electricity to consumers across the state. As far as we are concerned, the incessant apologies from IBEDC are insufficient to compensate for adverse consequences of poor electricity supply faced by consumers. Most electricity consumers across the state are forced to either tolerate an extended period of darkness at huge cost of electricity tariff or spend a substantial portion of their meagre income to fuel and maintain generators.

It is in the light of this, we demand a rebates on consumers’ bills as a form of compensation for the extensive periods of power outage during which consumers were unjustly denied accesses to electricity supply. Beyond this is the need for the IBEDC, as well as other private electricity companies, to admit the obvious truth and reality that it lacks the capacity to guarantee affordable and regular electricity for mass of the Nigerian working people. Since the power sector’s privatisation in 2013, Nigerians have been subjected to frequent electricity tariff hikes and widespread  power outages. The situation  is also characterised by a repeated collapse of the national grid many times every year. throwing the entire country into darkness at different times. For instance, it happened twelve times in 2024. Nigeria’s electricity supply remains woefully inadequate with a meagre 3800 megawatt of power being generated, transmitted and distributed despite an installed capacity of approximately 13,000MW. Furthermore, staggering 80 million Nigerians, predominantly from rural areas,  are unconnected to the national grid, exacerbating the country’s energy  crisis.

The Minister of Power’s admission that the grid collapse  should be expected at any time is a stark indication that the current power sector crisis will continue for a long time, in the face of the existing privatization policy. This, which is a clear call for an immediate overhaul of the sector, forms  a major basis for our call for the immediate re-nationalization of the power sector under the democratic control of the elected representatives of the working people. A power sector under public ownership and democratic control of workers and consumers will usher in massive public investment that will drive the cost of electricity down and making it affordable in the long run for most Nigerian consumers.

We hereby  call on the leadership of trade unions, particularly the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) and community organizations to  support the demand for the renationalization of the power sector under the control of workers and the electricity consumers.

Ayodeji Adigun

Convener, Oyo State CARE

Email: [email protected]