ELECTRICITY: AJEGUNLE WOMEN PROTEST POOR SUPPLY AND EXPLOITATION, DEMAND PREPAID METER

SPN calls for the renationalization and democratic control of power sector

Ajegunle - Members of the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) and the Democratic Socialist Movement (DSM) through the aegis of Ajegunle Peoples' Movement (APM) participated in a mass meeting of more than 50 persons held on Wednesday 16 May, 2018. Seventy Five percent of those who attended were largely women, both old and young.

From information gathered, between 9:00am to 10:00am the women carried out a spontaneous protest to EKEDC office at Badia business unit. The protest was led by one Banmeme Adekunle, one of the youth leaders in the community who participated actively in the May, June and July 2015 No light, No payment campaign initiated by members of DSM. It was also mentioned that what prompted this protest was the exploitative crazy billing that has been ongoing for the months. 

At the meeting, they were agitated and angered especially the women over the astronomical crazy bill. According to many of the women present in the meeting they said. The bill the Eko Distribution Company is issuing the community at Ogbokwankwo, Eradiri etc are very high. "we want total reduction. We will continue to demand prepaid meter. We are tired of paying all the outrageous bills. In fact, we won't be paying for darkness anymore".

They protested down to the EKEDC office this morning after they saw the outrageous bill. They said "we told them enough is enough!". Community leaders, activists, socialists etc respectively from different organizations who were at the meeting also contributed with solidarity messages at the meeting. The community was encouraged to hold another meeting that could be bigger in order to be better prepared to press harder with their demands.

The leaflet of the Coalition for Affordable Regular Electricity (CARE) which explains the crisis in the power sector and articulates the demand of consumers for a better supply and appropriate billing system was circulated. Also distributed was the leaflet issued by the Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN) calling on the masses to join the party in order to build a better society. 

We in SPN Ajeromi Ifelodun applaud the potential put up by residents in this community especially the women for marching to EKEDC office at Badia, Lagos. We say great Nigerian working women!

Fundamentally, we enjoin all residents in the community to sustain this campaign and most importantly demand the renationalization of the power sector under democratic control of workers and consumers. We equally call on all fighting communities in Ajegunle and all genuine left fighters and activists who have been in the forefront of the campaign against darkness, exploitative unjustifiable bill etc to join CARE in order to unite for a bigger campaign for a better and just power sector.

We in SPN believe that in taking this country off the hook of capitalism is to build a formidable alternative like the Socialist Party of Nigeria. The SPN program, policies and principle stands for the nationalization of all public corporations under the democratic control and management by workers and the poor. We call on the people of Ajegunle to join the SPN in order to help build it as a formidable force.

By

Fidel Davynovich

SPN Ajegunle