BEDC commends Ovbiogie community over harvest of alleged vandals

Chief State Head, Edo State, Fidelis Obishai, made the commendation at the appreciation ceremony hosted by BEDC in Benin, Tuesday.He said vandalism and other forms of electricity theft are serious threats to Nigeria’s sustainability and economic growth, and impact negatively on revenue, noting that funds that should have been used for electrical infrastructure projects are being used to repair damaged installations and stolen equipment.

Recall that vigilante members of Ovbiogie community had assisted BEDC in apprehending vandals who vandalised two transformers in the community.Commending the community for its vigilance over BEDC network, he said the fight against electricity vandals “is a collective responsibility that can only be sustained through increased partnership.”
Obishai, who spoke on behalf of MD/CEO, Mrs. Funke Osibodu, said:

“If a pole is damaged, wires are carted away, and transformers are vandalised; the community remains in darkness. It behoves on all of us to ensure that these equipment are protected for our common good.”

Obishai reiterated that electricity generated in Nigeria is not sufficient to give 24 hours power supply to all customers thereby causing load shedding, to enable equitable distribution of power so as to satisfy electrical needs of all classes of customers. He added that “BEDC is only allocated 9% of what is generated from the national grid daily, while some communities are deprived of their share because of those who vandalise transformers and other installations.

While appreciating the effort of Ovbogie Community, he presented them with cartons of energy saving bulbs, saying it will help them pay less for power usage, and also enjoined other communities to emulate and take ownership of BEDC assets in their various localities, “since they are the direct users of these facilities.”