Thread by @OfficialPHED

*PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT 11TH SEPTEMBER 2020*

OYIGBO YOUTH RESPONSIBLE FOR POWER OUTAGE IN PORT HARCOURT.

#NERC #FridayThoughts @NigeriaNewsdesk @vanguardngrnews @TCN_NIGERIA
@anedng
@PowerUpNG
@IntelUtil
@MinistryofPower

The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc, wishes to inform its valued customers and the members of public that Port Harcourt metropolis, the Rivers state capital has been experiencing power outage this week as a result of the action of Oyigbo Youth.

They barricaded the Transmission Station located inside Afam Community, the main source of power supply to the City.

The Oyigbo Youth also carried out the same habitual action on the 14th August 2020, which culminated to total darkness in the Garden City,

forcing a meeting of all stakeholders including Rivers State Ministry of Power on 27th August with a view to resolving the imbroglio. The said meeting led to the setting up of a subcommittee with the mandate of finding a lasting solution to incessant protests by the youths.

It was given ten working days to submit its report. The subcommittee therefore, had its inaugural sitting on 2nd September 2020 where every member was in attendance including the representatives of Oyigbo.

While waiting for the report of the subcommittee, the youth in their numbers embarked on flagrant action and barricaded the TCN station without recourse to the action points of the sterling committee, thereby stopping PHED from evacuating power to the good people of Rivers State

The community was not disconnected by PHED as widely speculated but the loss of supply to the area was due to faults on the lines and we are constrained to deploy such huge resources to a community that has never paid electricity bill for over seven years of PHED’s existence.

Everyone knows that electricity is *NOT* free anywhere in the world.
PHED therefore, seeks the intervention of the opinion leaders and security agencies to prevail on the youth to vacate the place to enable PHED distribute power to its esteemed customers.

We also appeal for their understanding while waiting for the final resolution.

John Onyi
Manager, Corporate Communications
PHED