Enugu customers boo EEDC workers
ENUGU Electricity Distribution Company workers yesterday received the hot side of their customers when they were booed, snared at and abused for reportedly keeping them waiting for hours in the scorching sun.
The angry customers were said to have arrived the EEDC office at Amechi Street in Achara Layout, Enugu South Local Council of Enugu State as early as 7.45 am yesterday to pay their electricity bills but were shocked over “the sluggish and poor attitude” of the workers at EEDC, who were said to be battling with accommodation/ space challenges which reportedly hindered their smooth operation.
I don’t know why they (EEDC workers) enjoy punishing us the customers. You struggle to make your money and you struggle to come and pay for the electricity bill and rather than attend to the hundreds of customers, they prefer to delay us endlessly,” said one of the angry customers, Ikenna, who said his tag number was 184.
The EEDC workers shouldn’t be taking customers for granted because without our patronage, they can’t go far in their business. They should realize that they are here to serve customers not to keep them waiting till eternity,” said Agatha Anyanwu, another customer who came to recharge her pre-paid electricity/energy card.
Mrs. Anyanwu, a mother of three kids, said her tag number was 220 and that she could only recharge her prepaid meter around sunset. “It’s not this type of experience we expect from the EEDC,” she remarked. She said some customers’ tag numbers were beyond 400.
When contacted the Public Relations Manager of EEDC, Mr. Eugene Aniowo, said what happened yesterday was very unfortunate and attributed it to bad network. “Network was so bad yesterday. We apologise for what happened and we appeal to our customers to be patient with us because we are there to serve them,” Aniowo said.
“Some customers were asked to go and come back the next day,” she hinted.
Having waited for hours under the blazing sun without being attended to, the customers began to pour unprintable insults on the EDDC workers.
When The Guardian visited the place, a crowd of customers were seen sitting, standing and struggling to gain access into the EEDC office, so as to be attended to.
He said the company has already introduced the online method of payment so that customers will no longer be crowding the EEDC office in order to make their payments. “The customers can pay online or through any of the commercial banks and whenever they have such problem they can call our number 08121020423,” he said.
Meanwhile, the South-East Amalgamated Market Traders Association of Nigeria (SEAMATA) has threatened to resist any attempt by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to hand over Aba and Ariara electricity distribution unit to Afrigem.
President-General of the group, Ichie Okwudili Ezenwankwo, who addressed journalists after an enlarged meeting of the traders in Enugu, vowed that any plan to take the power unit away from the Enugu
Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) would be totally unacceptable to them.
He said if the purported plan was allowed to stand, it would paralyse businesses in the area.
Ezenwankwo said: “Geometric Power Company has always claimed that they will provide 24-hour regular power supply in Aba since 2005. That has never happened and Aba has been suffering until November 2013, when the EEDC took over,” adding : “We all know that things have been improving and we are hopeful that it can only get better under the EEDC.”
According to him: “Recently we read in the papers that the BPE is about to hand over Aba and Ariara distribution unit to a company called Afrigem, which we understand has purchased Geometrics. We are very concerned that if this happens, our hope for reliable power supply will never be realized. This is why we shall resist such plot with every available effort.”
The traders’ leader, who praised President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption efforts, nonetheless enjoined him not to allow a few cabal to destroy South-East economy.
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.
1 Comments
President-General of the group, Ichie Okwudili Ezenwankwo is an idiot who is doing his paymasters bidding.
We will review and take appropriate action.