Band A: Ancestral Spirits Send Representatives As Young People Protest Against High Electricity Bills In Omu-Aran

Ancestral spirits were well-represented as young people in Omu-Aran, headquarters of Irepodun Local Government, Kwara State staged a protest against high electricity bills at the weekend.

Masquerades called ‘egungun’ or ‘ara orun’ among the Yoruba people are believed to represent the ancestral spirits.

Two masquerades led the protest, and the aggrieved young people condemned the movement of the community’s electricity billing regime from Band C to Band A.

They converged on Bareke Roundabout, the rendezvous from where they marched through major parts of the ancient town .

They carried placards with various inscriptions as they danced and sang war songs.

The inscriptions on the placard include ‘Omu-Aran Says No to Band A’, ‘Bring Us Back to Band C’, ‘Revert Omu-Aran to Band C ’, and ‘Omu-Aran Youths Have Spoken Loudly’.

Team@orientactualmags.com learned that  those who were paying between N10,000 and N15,000 monthly got N41,000 and N47,000 respectively for the month of March .

President, Omu-Aran Development Association,  Mr Niyi Adeyeye, noted in a statement that their demands include the replacement of faulty transformers and the reversion of the billing from Band A.

‘Some of our demands include the replacement of faulty transformers leading to inconsistent electricity supply in some key areas of the community, reversion of the billing from Band A to the previous Band C and improvement of electricity supply, suspension of Band A billings and review of the current charges to reflect the old billing regime.

Other demands include independent review of IBEDC service delivery in Omu-Aran to assess the relevance of the proper tariff regime classification, immediate stoppage of overdraft purchase on pre-paid meters as well as stoppage of electricity consumers purchasing materials for faulty electricity equipment’ the statement said.

In the meanwhile, the Olomu of Omu-Aran, Oba Abdulraheem Adeoti, while receiving the protesters at his palace, urged calm, noting that the community leaders are already discussing the issue with IBEDC officials-Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you