By Kazeem Waris
Eleven years after electricity supply was cut off, residents of Miango in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State are still living in darkness, with youths demanding the immediate restoration of power and a probe into the circumstances surrounding the prolonged blackout.
The Concerned Irigwe Youths, who addressed journalists on Tuesday at the Plateau State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Jos, said the 11-year power outage had crippled businesses, disrupted education and made life increasingly difficult for residents.
The group alleged that the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC) disconnected Miango from the national power supply in 2015 following a dispute over electricity debt.
Speaking for the youths, their spokesman, Bitrus Adamu Izhi, said repeated efforts by residents to resolve the matter had failed to restore electricity, despite payments allegedly made towards the outstanding debt.
“We are asking questions to seek clarity, accountability and normalcy through the restoration of electricity supply and an end to these 11 years of darkness,” Izhi said.
According to him, Miango had 682 registered electricity customers before a meeting with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in Abuja in December 2016.
He said the community’s post-privatisation electricity debt, initially put at N51.4 million, was reconciled following NERC’s intervention and reduced to about N38 million as of June 2017, with the liability to be shared among individual metered consumers.
Izhi claimed that consumers subsequently paid about N28 million, leaving an estimated balance of N10 million.
The youths, however, alleged that the dispute took another turn following the emergence of the Miango Community Energy Project Enterprise, which they said began collecting electricity-related payments from consumers under an arrangement with JEDC.
They further alleged that individual consumer accounts were later suspended and replaced with a single account through which payments were collected.
According to the group, residents were led to believe that the funds collected, together with donations from members of the community, would be used to settle the electricity debt and facilitate reconnection.
“Despite all these efforts and payments, Miango remains in darkness,” the youths said.
Izhi said the prolonged blackout had taken a heavy toll on the community, particularly young people whose businesses and livelihoods depended on electricity.
He said students had been forced to study under difficult conditions, while artisans, traders and other small-business owners had suffered losses because of the absence of power.
Health workers and families, he added, had also been affected by the prolonged lack of regular electricity supply.
The youths are now demanding full disclosure of all funds allegedly collected from Miango electricity consumers by the Miango Community Energy Project Enterprise, including details of monies received and how they were spent.
They also called for the suspension of further transactions involving the company and JEDC on behalf of Miango consumers until the issues surrounding the funds and electricity accounts are clarified.
The group further demanded that JEDC restore the suspended individual consumer accounts and take immediate steps to reconnect the community to electricity.
The youths appealed to Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, to constitute an investigative committee to determine what happened to the funds allegedly collected, establish the responsibilities of all parties and find a lasting solution to the power crisis.
They recalled that Mutfwang had expressed his commitment to restoring electricity to Miango during the annual Irigwe Cultural Day.
The youths also urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the police to investigate the matter if evidence of financial wrongdoing or other offences is established.
They said they would continue to pursue the matter through peaceful and lawful means, announcing plans for a peaceful protest to draw wider attention to the plight of residents.
The group appealed to the media and other stakeholders to support its campaign, insisting that after 11 years without electricity, Miango residents deserve answers, accountability and power.
