Controversy trails alleged extortion of residents by KEDCO, community leaders

From Femi Oyelola, Kaduna

There is blame and refutation from residents of the Maigero/Karji community and Kaduna Electric Distribution Company (KEDCO) over alleged extortion of residents and stalling the installation of the brand new transformer donated by late Hon. Ekene Adams last year.
Some residents alleged that KEDCO conspired with community leaders to extort them and stall the installation of the brand-new transformer.
A statement made available to the media by public affairs commentator, Edward John Auta, in Kaduna, Friday, stated that it was rumored that Kaduna Electric officials may be unwilling to fix the new transformer, as it would resolve the old transformer’s constant failures and halt their lucrative levy collection or that the company might be waiting for the old transformer (which has been down for over 3 months now) to be completely vandalized, overloading the new one when it is finally installed, and ensuring continued levy payments each time it expectedly breaks down.
Auta explained that the company’s refusal to install The donated transformer, coupled with continuous levy collection, has raised suspicions leading to the unbelievable findings.
According to him, “For 16 months now, residents have been tasked with raising millions of Naira for installation costs, and despite contributing almost ₦3M as of January 2024, nothing has been done.
“No update on the installation has been provided, and the old transformer, which supplies very low voltage, has been down for over three months, yet levy collection has continued.
“The Kaduna Electric management must explain why they haven’t installed the donated transformer despite residents’ contributions.”
He, therefore, called on the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to investigate the allegations and take action.
“As customers, we have the right to transparent electricity billing, proper information, and education on electricity services, among other rights in the company’s service guidelines,” the statement reads.
However, in a response to the allegation via a statement, KEDCO noted that the allegation was born out of frustration that the said customers were out of supply.
The statement reads, “We told them that they are out as a result of vandalism that took place on the DT. It happened before when Kaduna Electric replaced the vandalized cables. The recent vandalism that took place.
‘The culprit has been apprehended, and he is in the custody of the police at state headquarters, which our Regional Security has been following up on the case. The culprit is a member of the community.”
He disclosed that the company had given the community some items for the installation of the said transformer.
“The representatives of the community are not giving the community proper feedback on the effort Kaduna Electric is making to ensure the installation of the transformer and restoration of supply.
“We as a company are not a party to any levy being raised within the community”, the statement adds.