Port Harcourt ‘thrown into darkness’ as angry youths shut power station

Some angry youths in the late hours of Monday shut down a power station belonging to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), leading to power outage in Port Harcourt and environs.

The youths were protesting alleged inability of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) to provide them with steady electricity and TCN’s refusal to employ youths from the host communities.

They forced the TCN staff to leave their office premises and barricaded the power station in Afam, Oyibo local government area (LGA).

Chisom Ngbali, the chairman, caretaker committee of Oyibo LGA, who led the protest, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday.

He said that the youth took the action after the host communities were allegedly disconnected from the power grid following their failure to pay electricity bills.

“We went there (power station) and left the premises immediately after giving them instructions that if they don’t restore electricity to us; there won’t be electricity anywhere.

“PHED says they will not give host communities electricity until they make payment for electricity used which is not part of the agreement we have with the federal government.

“Host communities have been thrown into darkness for five days and counting and electricity supply is the only thing that we are benefiting from TCN’s presence in our communities.

“We had earlier given them the condition that if we must pay for electricity; TCN should employ our people and give us contracts as stated in the local content law,” he said.

Ngbali claimed that host communities had an agreement with ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration in 2006.

The agreement, he said, granted host communities 20 years window of non-payment for electricity.

He said the period would expire in 2026, adding that the disconnection of electricity supply to the area was illegal.

“We cannot be in the midst of plenty and yet nothing is coming to our people. This is our land, and all the adverse effect on the environment is on us,” he said.

John Onyi, the spokesman for PHED, told NAN that the protesters’ action disrupted power supply.

He said that PHED depended on transmission from TCN to enable it to distribute electricity to customers in the state.

Onyi condemned the protest and challenged host communities to produce the written agreement it had with the federal government which absolved them from paying for electricity.

“We recall that on two different occasions in 2016, youths from Oyibo LGA carried out similar action, and to which, if unabated will continue to throw Port Harcourt city into unnecessary darkness.

“PHED condemns the actions of the youth and call on law enforcement agencies and Rivers government to intervene and put a final stop to this frequent disruption of electricity distribution to customers,” he said.