Tailors in Aba, the commercial center of Abia Stateon Wednesday, he organized a protest against alleged extortion by Aba Power Limited (APL), a subsidiary of Geometrica Power.
Protesters alleged that despite supplying power for epileptics, the company was trying to put them out of business with estimated bills.
A former president of the state Tailors and Fashion Designers Association, Onyebuchi Nwigwe, said they were not happy with the activities of the power company which he said were affecting their trade.
Another tailor, Ikenna Agu, said they were hurt because the company was using police officers and soldiers to harass and intimidate them into paying.
He said the company arrived with soldiers at their business premises on Saturday, cut their lines without warning and also hit some of them, including some customers.
Mr. Agu appealed to the Abia State government to urgently intervene and bring the company to order.
According to him, “the painful thing about the issue is that APL gives us invoices that exceed the number of businesses we have on a block.
“How can I pay 18,000 naira a month in my little shop if I don’t have up to 24 hours of light a month?
“They bring 38 bills into our own building that doesn’t have 38 stores,” he said.
Ugochukwu Iheme, another tailor, said that “APL is making their lives miserable” and that the demonstration was aimed at exposing fraud at the company.
Ebere Okoro, another tailor, said the problem was that the bill was not proportional to the energy they supplied.
Okoro urged the government to intervene in the matter and prevent the company from continuing to extort money from them.
‘Is not true’
Aba Power Limited’s commercial director, Blessing Ogbe, denied the allegations, saying the groups of tailors were stationed on the busiest electricity feeder.
Ogbe said the company made sure the feeder served between 12pm and 6pm every day, adding that it was not true that they were subject to estimated billing.
He also said that the company guaranteed that the limitation order of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission was complied with.
He challenged the tailors to bring the invoice to check the ceiling for that month.
He accused them of trying to cut corners, saying he knew there could be up to 30 people in a shop, but they would want to pay the bill for three tailors.
ALSO READ: Tell your tenants to pay the light, electric beg the landlords
He also said that Aba Power Limited was always open to dialogue, adding that the company was making efforts to improve power supply in the city.
The government reacts
When contacted, Trade and Industry Commissioner Chimezie Okegwu said he was unaware of the tailors’ protest and complaint.
Okegwu, however, promised that the state government would investigate the alleged extortion when the ministry received a formal report.
“Any extortion is illegal as long as it is really extortion, but another thing is that we know if it really is extortion.
“It may be legitimate, but you can also do something legitimate the wrong way. We have to check whether it is extortion or a legitimate payment, when and how it was made,” he said.
(YAYA)
Read More Related News Here
Let hear it in the comment below if you do have an opinion on this; Aba tailors protest against high electricity bills and alleged extortion