There was a mild drama in Port Harcourt, Rivers State
capital, on Tuesday, as some women stormed the office of the Port Harcourt
Electricity Distribution Company protesting the prolonged power outage.
The women from the Mile 2 and Mile 3 axis of Diobu, Port
Harcourt barricaded the PHED office near the Isaac Boro Park in Port Harcourt,
saying their husbands barely have time with them at night due to intense heat
waves occasioned by epileptic power supply.
The placard-carrying protesters marched through major streets
in Diobu, including Wokoma, Dim, Wokoma lane, Obaziolu, Dim lane, Egbuagu,
Azikiwe, and Ojoto Streets before heading to the PHED office to register their
displeasure.
Some of the inscriptions on the placards carried by the
Rivers women read, “We lack romance with our husbands’, ‘Our husbands no longer
touch us at night’, No light no payment’, ‘The heat is too much,’ ‘PHED help us
to sleep well with our husbands’, among others.
One of the Rivers women said they also found it difficult to
preserve cooked foods for weeks, pointing out that their businesses had been
grounded due to poor power supply by the Port Harcourt distribution firm.
She listed the areas mostly affected as Dim, Wokama, Azikiwe,
and Ojoto streets, even as they expressed dismay that they pay light bills
monthly without a corresponding power supply.
She said they could not be paying for darkness.
The protesting women promised to re-mobilize and come for
another round of peaceful protest if the condition did not improve.
She stated, “This lack of light (electricity) is making our
soup sour. Even when our husbands want to make love to us, the heat will not
allow it. We can’t even charge our phones and preserve our food. We are
worried.”
Another protester who gave her name as Nene, said “This
protest is for PHED to give us light. We are paying bills but not seeing the
light. Our pot of soup getting bad, and even having sex with our husbands is a
problem because of heat.
“Last night, my husband wanted to have fun with me but the
heat was too much, and I could not. We could not do anything. So PHED should
give us light or else we will not pay the bill for this month.”
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer with the PEHD,
Livingstone Koko, said the current power situation was beyond the control of
the company, saying it was a value chain issue.
Koko stated, “It is a value chain constraint. It is beyond
our control. However, we also share their sentiments and try to let them know
that we are working with other players in the industry to ensure that supply is
being restored.
“It is nothing short of what is being experienced around the
country. So we are aware of the challenge and we apologies and ask them to bear
with us.”
The protest came days after the Minister of Power, Bayo
Adelabu, held a meeting with electricity generation and distribution companies.
Adelabu said the meeting was held to proffer solutions to the
lingering power problems in the country.
The country has been experiencing a low power supply since
December 2023.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria as well as electricity
distribution companies have, however, blamed the situation on gas shortages
leading to low allocation from the national grid.
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