Abuja- The House of Representatives has mandated its Committee on Power to resolve the misunderstanding between the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) and some communities in Delta.
This followed the adoption of a motion moved by Rep. Nicholas Ossai (Delta-PDP) on Thursday in Abuja during plenary.
Ossai had expressed the need for the House to intervene in the dispute between BEDC and Afor, Obetim, Umutu, and Ogume communities located in Ndokwa/Ukwani Federal Constituency of the state.
He said that BEDC had in the past 11 months withdrawn its services from the communities in the area.
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He explained that the withdrawal of the services was due to disagreements on payment of about N20 million bulk billing charges levied on each of the four rural communities ‘’of poor farmers, traders and artisans’’.
Ossai noted that Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), established to, among other mandates, exert control and regulate the distribution and marketing of electricity in Nigeria, had failed to resolve the impasse.
According to him, this is in spite of entreaties and representations made to the company.
The lawmaker said the four communities had remained in total darkness as a result of the blackout which had subjected the people to untold hardship.
This, he said, had undermined contributions to the growth of the national economy and the transformation agenda of the Federal Government.
The Speaker of the House, Aminu Tambuwal, urged the Committee on Power to handle the matter and report back to the House within three weeks. (NAN)
