SPEECH OF THE CHAIRMAN, PLANNING COMMITTEE OF BRING BACK OUR LIGHT GROUP, HON. SOLOMON BITIRE, ON THE OCCASION OF TOWN HALL MEETING ORGANISED TO RESTORE ELECTRICITY TO AFFECTED COMMUNITIES CUT OFF FROM THE NATIONAL GRID BY BENIN ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY, TODAY APRIL 1, 2017 AT OKITIPUPA TOWN HALL, OKITIPUPA, ONDO-STATE

Protocols,

I am honoured to be appointed by Bring Back Our Light (BBOL) as chairman planning committee that organised this historic occasion.

In December 2014, 6 local government areas of Ondo South senatorial district were cut off from the national grid since by Benin Electricity Distribution Company. The company, BEDC, one-sidedly disconnected electricity supply from Okitipupa local government, Ilaje, Irele, Ese Odo, Odigbo,and part of IleOluji\Oke-Igbo local governments (Oke-Igbo precisely) without any warning or information before such unilateral disconnection was implemented. This singular action put over 400, 000 electricity consumers into total darkness for the past 2 years now.

There were series of troubleshooting by stakeholders, ranging from various pressure groups (BBOL inclusive), religious leaders, prominent citizens, and traditional rulers which made BEDC to come out later and alleged that all affected local governments were disconnected due to non-payment of electricity bills (pre and post BEDC era). They gave the indebtedness of each local government excluding Odigbo LGA who had already found a way out as follows:

1. Okitipupa LGA - N598, 863,151.79k

2. Irele LGA - N99, 867,216.47k

3. Ese Odo LGA - N48, 865,693.74k

4. Ilaje LGA - N61, 082,117k

During this period, I was the interim chairman of Okitipupa LG. Myself and other stakeholders, disagreed with the figures (electricity bills) against Okitipupa LGA. Base on this, I constituted a 9 member due diligence audit Committee, chaired by Mr. S.T Aderehinwo, a former staff of PHCN and an expert in electricity billing, to study, examine, analyze, authenticate or disprove the claims of indebtedness against electricity consumers under Okitipupa LGA. The committee came out with the following findings:

1. Consumers whose Meters were functioning were billed on constant Estimation.
2. Consumers who had paid for meters, but whose meters were not supplied were billed on continuous coding and direct billing system.
3. BEDC added the outstanding debt incurred by BEDC offices and substations to the outstanding debt/bill of Okitipupa LGA for settlement.
4. Some consumers’ bills were embarrassingly exorbitant.
5. Some consumers were not from Okitipupa LGA but their bills/debts were subsumed into Okitipupa LGA.
6. Consumers who were not indebted to BEDC were disconnected in December 2014.
7. Some consumers had credit balance but were disconnected by BEDC.
8. Some communities in the LGA that have not enjoyed electricity supply since 2005 were billed, and such bills were added to the indebtedness of our communities by BEDC.
9. Some buildings were demolished by rainstorm or some other disaster since 1992, rebuilt 2005, but had not been reconnected to public electricity supply, were billed for consuming public electricity power supply.
The Committee, after thorough and painstaking audit, found that the actual amount of money owed BEDC by consumers in the local government area was one hundred and thirteen million, five hundred and fifty nine thousand, three hundred and fifty-one Naira, eighty two kobo (N113, 559,351.82).

The other 3 affected local governments that is, Irele, Ilaje and Ese Odo local governments also set up similar committees in their respective local governments. Expectedly, similar anomalies, were discovered by the committees. Today, we now have one harmonized report of a reconciled electricity bills as it affects each local governments.

From the due diligence audit report of outstanding debts as reviewed by affected local governments, our acceptable electricity bills are:

1. Okitipupa LGA - N113, 559,351.83k

2. Irele LGA - N38, 867,216.47k

3. Ilaje LGA - N12, 216, 423.43k

4. Ese Odo - N9, 773,138.75k



Total debt is put at: N174, 416,130.47

Though BEDC did not accept or reject these figures, but they could not however fault this report up till date. We have done a breakdown of our figures as it affects various communities in OKITIPUPA LGA as shown in the table below.



S\N
TOWN/
COMMUNITY
PRE- PRIVATISATION BILLS (N)
POST PRIVATISATION BILLS(N)
TOTAL AMOUNT (N)
1
OKITIPUPA
33,614,387.16
35,059,694.38
68,674,081.54
2
ERINJE
5,711,072.47
2,634,554.02
8,345,626.49
3
ODE AYE
7,662,591.24
7,911,156.39
15,273,747.63
4
IKOYA
3,187,178.68
2,621,369.89
5,808,548.57
5
ILUTITUN
6,258,718.71
6,001,848.33
12,260,567.04
6
IGBODIGO
2,100,639.13
1,096,141.42
3,196,780.55






TOTAL
58,324,587.39
55,324,764.43
113,559.351.82


Some communities like Igbotako and others in Okitipupa LGA were excluded from this template because they were not using electricity from time immemorial.

Having said this, I will like to introduce Bring Back Our Light Group (BBOL) to you – the pressure group that organized this town hall meeting.

BBOL as a vibrant pressure group in Okitipupa local government, amongst several others started the campaign for the restoration of electricity back to our Division by all lawful means to fight the course of justice sometimes in 2015. BBOL was founded in 2015 by few, vibrant and articulate young men and women with a genuine passion to restore electricity back to our various local governments. Pst Olumide Akinrinlola was appointed coordinator of the group being the originator of the idea. Just last year, December 2016 precisely, this young man, Pst Akinrinlola, was auburn and encouraged by some of his friends and associates on social media that the struggle to restore electricity to our communities must continue.

Pst Olumide Akinrinlola further succeeded by creating a social media account, “WhatsApp,” in the name of BRING BACK OUR LIGHT to bring together all political office holders from ward level to federal level, serving and former political office holders, some religious leaders, some royal fathers, prominent citizens, committed residents, business moguls, our sons and daughters in diaspora where we engaged ourselves in intellectual discussions and proffers solution on how to restore electricity and also ensure that consumers are adequately protected from extortion and illegal metering. We all agreed in one accord that the best solution is to raise money and offset our indebtedness or a reasonable part of it as honest commitment. We reached out to many of our sons and daughters who are not on WhatsApp to create such social media account since that is the quickest way of robbing minds together simultaneously. Those who sent their WhatsApp number were added immediately by our administrator (pst Akinrinlola). And those who were not online were properly briefed through phone conversation and visitations. The resolution taken on this platform by our people necessitated this town hall meeting today.

I must also commend all the stakeholders, various groups, religious leaders, all the council chairmen, our royal fathers and everyone who have one way or the other fought for the course of justice to restore electricity to our land. But permit me to appreciate Hon. Mike Omogbehin, an original Ikale man, for his effort so far on this electricity struggles. Recently, he facilitated a fruitful stakeholders meeting of our leaders, royal fathers, prominent citizens with the honourable minister of power, works and housing, Babatunde Fashola in Abuja. You are all aware that Fashola visited Omotosho power plant recently as part of the fulfilment of his promises during the last meeting held with him in Abuja. Upon his visit to Omotosho, Fashola has given assurances that Omotosho community will be connected to the power plant by April, this month, while he promised to work on the extension of such connection to other communities thereafter.

I can’t but inform the house that the current chairman of Okitipupa LG, Pst Larry Ogunmusire has been so wonderful over this electricity struggle. He hardly sleeps over his engagement with our royal fathers, BEDC officials, to find a lasting solution to this virus which has given rooms for criminal activities in our land. We appreciate you sir, Pst Larry, for the roles you are playing, especially for series of travelling and engagements you had had with BEDC, government officials and all relevant stakeholders to make your people smile again.

Kabiyesis, Kade pe lori, ki bata pe lese. Ki irunkere di Abere. You are all wonderful. We thank you for your support and effort so far. God will be with you all.

Ladies and gentlemen, BBOL is working with our people both home and abroad, we have mobilized and discussed with successful children of our land to raise substantial part of this money to support our people in settling our outstanding indebtedness to BEDC

We agreed in our meeting that an account will be opened for the fund raising exercise across all affected local governments in the name of this group while one kabiyesi, one religious leader and one member of BBOL who are residents of various local governments will be signatories to the account. BBOL Planning committee had also inaugurated a communique drafting committee who have taken responsibility of taken minutes and writing of all the resolutions that will be taken here today.

It is our hope that some of our sons and daughters in government and other prominent business men and women in all the affected LGA will do something at the end of this meeting. As you all know, while fund raising is ongoing, we need intermediate funds to pay part of our debts so that BEDC will come to site to start repair of damaged facilities.

I thank all members of the planning committee for the good job.

I also thank the house for the audience granted me. BBOL welcome you all to this meeting.

Long live Ondo South!

Long live Ondo State!

Long live all members of BBOL