Youths from Ososo, Ojah, Ijiranmi and other communities in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State have protested an eight-month electricity outage affecting the area.

The protesters staged a demonstration on Thursday at the Edo State Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Power in Benin, carrying placards demanding urgent action to restore electricity.

Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Bernard Gomina said the communities had been without electricity for about eight months despite interventions by community leaders and the member representing Akoko-Edo II Constituency, Donald Okogbe.

He said the prolonged outage had severely affected businesses and commercial activities in the communities.

Another protester, Abayomi, alleged that residents had contributed substantial sums to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) on several occasions for repairs to faulty equipment, but the problems remained unresolved.

He also complained about estimated electricity bills residents received despite the poor supply before the complete outage, and called for an alternative distribution arrangement if BEDC could no longer provide reliable electricity.

Okogbe, who joined the protesters, said the affected communities covered both state constituencies in the local government. He called on the regulatory commission to consider removing the communities from BEDC’s coverage if the company could not provide reliable electricity.

The lawmaker said electricity was essential to economic growth and residents’ wellbeing, urging the authorities to treat the matter as an emergency.

The Chief Executive Officer of Edo SEBCO commended the protesters for their peaceful conduct and said efforts were underway to resolve the problem. He disclosed that the head of the technical team for the area was already on site and assured them that electricity would be restored by Saturday.

The Chairman of the Edo State Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr Shittu Shaibu, also assured the protesters that the commission was aware of the situation and working to resolve it.

The Commissioner for Power, Paul Osenbo, advised the protesters to submit a memorandum detailing their complaints, assuring them that the ministry was aware of electricity challenges affecting consumers across the state and would address them.