The entire Nation recently stood against the scourge and brutal use of force by the SARS against the masses they are meant to defend. Nigerians protested across the country and beyond, which forced the President to listen to what the people wanted, against what we know this administration for. For the first time in recent time, Nigerians realized that indeed, power belong to them. Kudos to Nigerians for this.

Another issue that seriously needs urgent government attention is the issue of the distributing companies across the country, they are seriously exploiting Nigerians, and the government/the regulatory agency (i.e NERC) is looking the other way as if everything is going on smoothly, nobody to fight for the masses.
I moved into an apartment early last year after the apartment has been left vacant for some years by the family of the landlady (an old woman in her nearly 80s), the woman went to Ikeja electric (IE) Office to instruct them to stop the billing for the vacant apartment till she would be able to rent it out, she even snapped the vacant apartment as an evidence and IE representative came to ascertain her claim and found it to be true.
When I moved into the apartment, around February, 2019, monthly billing was not active and forthcoming until the distributing company was notified that the apartment is now occupied, but to our greatest surprise, it was discovered that the bill was actually still accumulating in their office but not just been forwarded. it accumulated to the sum of nearly #160,000 naira.
As if that is not enough, it was when I moved in that I discovered that the electricity situation is very very bad in that location against what I was told before I moved in. I said no problem, still manageable since I would be using inverter and generator to complement the light.

But to my greatest surprise, I discovered that IE shares the light in that area against where I was coming from, where the light was superb.here in my new location, they do have light for one day on, one day off. which automatically means that you can only have light for maximum of 15 days in a month, as if that is not enough, on the day we are supposed to have light, they don't bring it till around noon, at times self, they do bring it around 4pm and won't fail to interrupt the light in-between the hours till the following day. They won't fail to take the light early in the morning the following day, at times, as early as 7am till the following day again.
hardly would a week or at most two weeks pass without the transformer developing fault again, at times, we would be in darkness for weeks. which further reduces the days we do have light in a month. Having light for maximum of like 10hrs the day we do have light.
But at the end of the month, they have never fail to bring their outrageous bill. my compound consists of four flats with their respective analogue meter, which IE never read for one day. prepaid were requested for, while two have been installed, they insisted that I must clear the outstanding debts on my bill before prepaid could be acquired (i.e paying for what I didn't use). All our explanation for the accumulation of debts makes no sense to them.
Early this year, NERC directed what each DISCO (i.e Distributing companies) should charge each category of their customers, but IE never for one day adhere to it. Sending their monthly estimated bills, extremely more than what those in the surrounding areas with daily supply of light, and with better daily supply do get.
Because of the poor supply of light, my landlady and a neighbor never exhausted up to one thousand naira in a month, while my flat placed under estimated billing do get up to 5,000 naira within the same month.
I went to IE to lodge complain about their manufactured outstanding debts, erratic light, and their monthly outrageous bills, but they locked their gate against alot of customers that were there to lodge one complain or another. with the instructions that we should channel our complaint through their various social platforms.
I sent mails to their official email, I also copied NERC official email and also filled their complaint of over-billing form. but for months now, nothing has ever come out of it.

Now, the Federal government and the DISCOs through NERC increased the electricity rate with effect from 1st of September, 2020
Despite the poor power supply, on the 23rd of September, which was the day we supposed to have light, there was a gas explosion that happened at Ajuwon road, Lagos State, which affected some of IE poles and wire. We have been in total darkness till then till today the 12th of October. but to our greatest surprise, IE brought a bill of nearly 15,000 naira against the bill of less than 5,000 naira they normally bring to my flat alone for the light that was totally poor, coupled with the fact I do get home late in the night, or not at home for days. (which means that the bill is just for 11days within the 22days already used before the blackout caused by the gas explosion. remember we do have light every alternative day).
To my greatest surprise after carefully examine the new electricity rate approved by NERC for each category of customers, I discovered that my bill is fraudulently placed under category B-non MD, (i.e category of customers enjoying minimum of 16hrs daily light) in an area where we do have light on alternate day, and for maximum of like 10hrs in those days, with the old transformer developing fault frequently.
This is a total fraud and IE needs to be sanction and call to order. but who is going to do this, the regulating Agency (NERC) has been a total failure, non existing, only barking without any serious action against the erring DISCOs.
The immediate past government commited a serious blunder for selling the companies to their cronies without any experience or resources to run the companies effectively. while the present government has been a total failure to safeguard the masses against all form of injustice happening in all sectors of the economy.
where or who else can we now run to?

We all need to stand up against this injustice by the distribution companies like we did against SARS.