Governor Monday Okpebholo on Monday appeared alongside youths and residents at Ring Road, where demonstrators gathered to protest prolonged electricity outages and controversial billing practices linked to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company.
Addressing the crowd, the governor expressed solidarity with the protesters, acknowledging that the power supply challenges affect households, businesses, and communities across Edo State.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Patrick Akhere Ebojele.
According to Okpebholo, he encountered the gathering while passing through the area and decided to stop and engage directly with residents to understand their concerns.
He stressed that any injustice or “short-changing” of Edo people has far-reaching consequences for families in both rural and urban areas, insisting that the grievances raised by protesters were legitimate and deserved urgent attention.
The governor, however, clarified that BEDC is a privately owned firm and not under the direct control of the state government. Despite this, he assured residents that the government would intervene by facilitating broader sector participation.
Okpebholo said the long-term solution lies in opening up the electricity distribution space to more investors, breaking what he described as a monopoly and creating a competitive environment similar to Nigeria’s telecommunications industry, where consumers can choose between service providers.
To kick-start the process, he announced plans for a stakeholders’ meeting scheduled for Tuesday and asked the protesters to nominate five representatives to join discussions aimed at finding practical solutions and improving power supply.
The demonstration had earlier drawn large numbers of residents to Ring Road, a major commercial hub, where they displayed placards bearing messages such as “We say no to BEDC oppression,” “No light, no bill,” and “Edo people say no to bulk billing.”
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Ogbidi Emmanuel criticised what he described as exploitative estimated billing and the high cost of prepaid meters, alleging that many residents were being charged despite experiencing little or no electricity supply.
He also questioned the transparency of BEDC’s meter distribution scheme and called on the company to publish the list of beneficiaries, claiming that meters are often priced between ₦150,000 and ₦400,000.
The protest remained peaceful throughout, with security personnel monitoring the situation as demonstrators dispersed following the governor’s intervention. As of the time of reporting, BEDC had yet to release an official response to the allegations raised.
