Governor Okpebholo joins protesters against Power outages

Governor Monday Okpebholo joined residents of Benin, Edo State, on Monday in a protest against persistent power outages and the billing practices of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC)

The demonstration began at Ring Road in central Benin City, where protesters carried banners reading, “We say no to BEDC oppression,” “No light, no bill,” and “Edo people say no to bulk billing.”

Participants condemned frequent blackouts, estimated bills, and the high cost of prepaid meters. Speaking on behalf of the group, Ogbidi Emmanuel said the protest was sparked by what residents view as “oppressive practices” by BEDC.

“We pay for light, and they give us darkness,” Emmanuel said, questioning the transparency of the company’s free meter distribution scheme and calling for the names of beneficiaries to be made public. He noted that meters reportedly cost between N150,000 and N400,000.

Addressing the crowd, Okpebholo urged calm and promised immediate engagement with relevant stakeholders. “We need to engage them to see how we can bring in more investors into the business of electricity distribution. Once that is done, we will all be more assured of stable power. Let us remain calm and allow the engagement to take place,” he said.

The governor clarified that BEDC is privately owned and not directly controlled by the state government, but assured that concrete steps would be taken to address residents’ concerns. He announced a stakeholders’ meeting for Tuesday and invited protesters to nominate five representatives to participate.

“I was just passing by and saw people gathered here at Ring Road. I stopped to find out what the issue was, and they said you were protesting. I said, yes, we are all youths, and I have come to join you. The only way we can fight this is to bring new investors into the business of distribution. We will break the monopoly. We want to operate like the telecom sector, where you have alternatives. Bringing in more investors will give our people options,” Okpebholo added.

The protest remained peaceful throughout, with security personnel maintaining order as demonstrators dispersed after the governor’s address. As of press time, BEDC had not responded to the allegations.

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