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Youth Attack Throws Rivers, Bayelsa Into Darkness
Few days after some Ahoada youths forced the closure of a Transmission Station in Ahoada Town, Ahoada-East Local Government Area of Rivers State, which resulted in the complete loss of power supply to Yenagoa and some parts of Rivers State, another group of community youth from Afam in Oyigbo Local Government Area has shut down Afam Transmission Station, thereby throwing the entire Port Harcourt metropolis into darkness.
The Tide gathered that the youth, who claimed to be members of Oyigbo Youth Assembly (OYA) stormed the Afam Transmission Station in Oyigbo Local Government Area at 10:34 am, last Monday morning and barricaded the station.
The youth claimed that the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) refused to supply Afam communities power over non-payment of electricity bills, thereby violating an earlier agreement with the Federal Government.
Speaking with The Tide, last Monday, the Manager, Corporate Communications, PHED, John Onyi regretted the incident, saying that it was becoming the order of the day any time PHED initiates disconnection of power supply to the community following the non-payment of electricity bills in the last four years.
Onyi noted that in January, 2017, a similar action was meted out to electricity users when the youth in their large number, forcefully asked the operator on duty to shut down the entire station.
The spokesman explained that the value of energy being wheeled to the community based on the statistical meter on their feeder was over N5.8billion cumulatively with an average consumption of over N140million monthly.
According to him, ’’Each time an attempt is made to enumerate the community for the purpose of accounting for the energy and sustainability of the power industry, it is always met with resistance from them.
“Worrisome also is the fact that all the commercial outfits in the area such as cold rooms, hotels, hospitals, welders, schools, among others, are not allowed to pay for energy consumed, yet, they are smiling to the banks with the proceeds of their businesses.
“On several occasions at different places, spanning over two years, meetings were held with relevant stakeholders, including the OYA in other to explain the implication of not allowing PHED to collect its money, yet, they pretend not to understand’’, he added.
Onyi said PHED was in business, adding that the survival of any business entity in the world thrives when customers pay for services rendered
He assured that the distribution firm will continue to engage its customers to foster collective growth through the provision of electricity to legitimate consumers.
According to him, “It must be noted that electricity supply is not free,” as he appealed to Oyigbo Youth Assembly to vacate the Afam Transmission Station with a view to returning normal social and economic activities to Port Harcourt metropolis and its environs.
Meanwhile, Bayelsa residents have lamented the adverse effect of prolonged power outages on their economic and social lives.
Our correspondent reports that power supply to the state was cut off from the national grid on Jan. 23.
Many small business operators told our correspondent yeysterday in Yenagoa that the development had adversely affected their businesses, which was worsened by high cost of petrol.
Miss Faith Okodion, who runs a hair dressing shop in Yenagoa said the power outages had thrown her temporarily out of business.
“The power situation has become unbearable; it has been worsened by the fuel scarcity, so when you buy fuel at between N250 and N300 per litre and add it to the cost, people will not be able to afford it.
“For one week now, I have not seen any job to do because I don’t have the money to buy petrol and I am just praying that power is restored,” Okodion said.
Mr James Michael, an operator of a frozen food store at Onopa area of Yenagoa said that he lost all the products he stocked for sale within the first few days of the outage.
“I have few kilogrammes of fish, meat and chicken when the problem started, my first reaction is to buy 10 litres of fuel to preserve them hoping that power will return, but after the third day power was not restored.
“I hoped to sell off the stock but failed because customers did not turn up and it was economically unjustifiable to be buying fuel, so the loss has been too much to bear,’’ Michael said.
However, the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) told our correspondent that the power outage in Bayelsa and parts of Rivers was inevitable.
Mr John Onyi, the Manager, Corporate Communications, PHEDC attributed the outage to the handiwork of Ahoada Youths, who shut down one of the transmission stations.
Onyi said prior to the incident, one of the two 40WM transformers serving the state was faulty, which reduced the capacity of the firm to distribute power by half.
Onyi said the utility company was incapacitated by the restive youths who threw the public into darkness.
He said residents in Bayelsa and some parts of Rivers were served by the transmission station located in Ahoada community in Rivers, which had been without power supply since Jan. 23.
Onyi said efforts by the utility firm to dialogue with the youths, who allegedly attacked the station to protest irregular power supply were unsuccessful.
He urged the Bayelsa government to wade into the issue.
“Therefore, the management of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company is calling on the security agencies and indeed the government of Bayelsa to wade into the matter.
“The forceful closure of the transmission station located inside Ahoada by a group of youths has led to complete loss of power supply to Yenagoa.
“The forced outage has not only affected the state capital, but also the adjoining communities in the state and some parts of Rivers, namely Isiokpo, Emuoha, Elele, among others.
“The stick-wielding youths came out en-masse early Tuesday morning, chanting war songs, blocked and barricaded the transmission station with fetish items.
“In the process, they forced the operators on duty to switch off the entire station. This action of the youths led to the loss of 132kv lines supplying power to Yenagoa.
“Ever since, all efforts made by the management of PHEDC to get the matter resolved have been met with further threats from the youths,” Onyi said.
The PHEDC official lamented that protests in the Niger Delta region over load allocation from the national grid, which leads to realistic systemic load shedding by the DISCO was becoming too frequent.
He said residents had always demanded for 24-hour power supply without corresponding payments, and efforts made by the company to explain the electricity value chain appear not to be understood.
“Surprisingly, the debt profile of the Ahoada community as at December 2017 stands at over N7.6 billion, yet the youths have not deemed it necessary to tell their people that they should settle their outstanding debts.
“Electricity has been misconstrued in some quarters to be free and not to be paid for whereas it should not be so,” Onyi said.
Ike Wigodo & Tonye Nria-Dappa
Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, has called on Nigerians to reject silence in the face of extrajudicial killings and other abuses of human rights.
Soyinka stressed that accountability and civic courage remain essential to rebuilding public confidence in the nation’s institutions.
He made the call during the 28th Wole Soyinka Lecture held in Port Harcourt, last Friday as part of activities marking his 92nd birthday.
The lecture, themed “Reclaiming the Nigerian State through Accountability, Justice and Civic Courage,” drew participants from different sectors of society.
The renowned playwright and human rights advocate said the country’s greatest tragedy was not only the unlawful killings carried out by state and non-state actors, but also the silence that often follows such incidents, allowing perpetrators to evade justice.
According to him, indifference by citizens to abuses of power and violations of fundamental human rights has contributed to the persistence of extrajudicial killings and other forms of injustice across the country.
Soyinka said he dedicated this year’s lecture to victims of unlawful killings, noting that the event was intended to honour individuals who had lost their lives as a result of failures within the justice system and society’s inability to protect the sanctity of human life.
He stressed that the lecture was dedicated to what he described as the basic unit of every society – the human being, and urged Nigerians to place greater value on human dignity irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social status.
The Nobel Laureate recalled several incidents of violence, including the fatal shooting and killing of a young man in Ugheli in Delta State by a police officer, and the mob killing of Deborah Yakubu in Sokoto State sometime ago, lamenting that many of those responsible are yet to face justice.
He expressed concern that some perpetrators of violent crimes had openly admitted their actions without fear of prosecution, describing such situations as evidence of serious failures within the nation’s justice system.
Soyinka maintained that when justice is delayed or denied, public confidence in state institutions continues to erode, thereby encouraging further violations of human rights.
Responding to critics who accuse him of promoting religious or ethnic divisions whenever he spoke on such issues, Soyinka dismissed the allegations and pointed out that his advocacy has always centred on the protection of human life and the rule of law.
He urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and continue demanding justice in cases of alleged extrajudicial killings, including the recent shooting of a young man by a police officer, stressing that every life deserves equal protection under the law.
The literary icon also recalled an earlier pledge by a past incoming president to make public the files relating to unresolved assassinations and extrajudicial killings, questioning the status of the promised investigations.
He challenged citizens to continue asking questions about unresolved cases, insisting that justice, accountability and respect for human dignity are indispensable to building a peaceful, democratic and inclusive Nigerian society.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has clarified that there was no fire at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, contrary to its earlier advisory.
Earlier yesterday, FAAN had announced that a fire incident had occurred at Terminal 2 of the nation’s busiest airport, and assured that its Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting Service had been deployed to contain the situation.
There were also reports that activities were briefly disrupted at the airport yesterday after smoke was seen inside parts of the terminal.
Videos circulating online showed passengers kept standing outside the terminal while firefighters responded to the incident.
However, in an update issued less than two hours later by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Henry Agbebire, and posted on FAAN’s official X handle, the authority said preliminary findings showed that the smoke seen at the terminal was caused by the discharge of the facility’s FM-200 fire suppression system.
“Further to our earlier advisory regarding the incident at Terminal 2 of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to provide the following update,” the statement read.
“Preliminary findings indicate that there was no fire at the terminal. The smoke observed within the affected area resulted from the discharge of the terminal’s FM-200 fire suppression system. The reason for the activation of the fire suppression system is currently being investigated,” FAAN stated.
The authority said normal operations had resumed at the terminal while investigations were ongoing to determine the cause of the incident.
“Normal operations have since resumed at the terminal, while detailed investigations are ongoing to determine the exact cause of the incident,” the statement added.
The authority thanked passengers, airlines, airport users and other stakeholders for their understanding and cooperation.
FAAN appreciated the understanding and cooperation of passengers, airlines, airport users and all stakeholders, and reiterated its commitment to the safety and security of all airport operations.