CORRUPT PRACTICES OF PHCN STAFFS AND EXPLOITATION OF CONSUMERS IN ONITSHA DISTRICT HAS RISEN TO APOGEE.

REF; CLO: ANSB/VOL. 01/05/09 /PHCN/CEO/ABJ/NIG

14 Orlu Street Fegge
Box 14883
Onitsha
Anambra State
08/05/09



The Managing Director/CEO
Power Holding Company of Nigeria
Plot 441 Zambezi Crescent
Maitama F.C.T
Abuja.

Sir,

CORRUPT PRACTICES OF PHCN STAFFS AND EXPLOITATION OF CONSUMERS IN ONITSHA DISTRICT HAS RISEN TO APOGEE.
CLO CALLS FOR DISCIPILINARY ACTIONS AND PROBE.

The Civil Liberties Organization is constrained to write your exalted office for immediate action on the various reported acts of misconduct, corrupt practices and exploitation of consumers in Onitsha district through the covert and overt actions of PHCN officials in Onitsha business unit. To be candid, at PHCN Onitsha district, corruption and other sharp practices are now grand norms which have been elevated to an art.

Consumers in the district are groaning over continued commercialization of power supply and in installation / maintenance of sub stations

As power supply remain low and erratic, it is quite regrettable, unfortunate and unacceptable that shoddy deals have been so entrenched in Onitsha that the issue of professionalism and oath of allegiance by PHCN staffs to the government and people of Nigeria have been sacrificed on the altar of pecuniary gains

From complaints pouring into our office in torrents and our independent investigations, monthly bills for consumers in most parts of the district are not only criminally outrageous but to say that consumers here totally bear the burden of maintaining and energizing the district will be merely stating the obvious.

Before now, when a transformer is installed and energized, the consumers here only determine its activation and coverage, but today, things have degenerated to a level where both procurement of new transformers, activation and maintenance now rests unofficially in the hands of consumers in Onitsha district. These activities are often carried out under “surrogate” and “intermediary” arrangement whereby some PHCN staffs are reliable facilitators for the procurement of these materials and collection of levies from the community involved but are shielded from public view by their cronies chosen from the particular community in the district. In the course of our findings, we adopted three residential layouts in the districts as our case study/reference point.

FEGGE:
In Fegge area, three residential streets stand out, viz: Ebonesi, Nzekwu ojudo and Ojukwu streets, their transformer is located within Ojukwu/Kaduna streets. Residents of these streets comprising 88 bedroom flats have not only faced untold hardship from PHCN but have been under serious exploitation. They have bored the brunt for maintenance of their transformer, procurement of feeder pillar units, wires and fuses for the past six years if not more than that (see the attached invoice.) From their presentations made to our office, three months sample of bills (see the attached) revealed outrageous bills of between N3,500 to N5,000 per flat despite the erratic power supply to the areas.
Protests by some aggrieved residents of the area exacerbated their plight as the whole area was thrown into total darkness by PHCN from 25th march till 11th April 2009 when some of our comrades intervened in the matter. The residents accused the fegge service center manager Engr Onyia and Marketer Ngozi Ikegwuonu of feeding fat on them through serial demands for bribe among other sundry negative activities which they have since denied when our organization contacted them on phone.


AWADA LAYOUT UGWUAGBA/ONITSHA
Awada residents in 2006 went wild in protest over chronic exploitation by PHCN staffs .The protest was organized by our sister civil society organization with state headquarters in the area when T.C Iloka was the Onitsha business manager. Since then, PHCN officials have been extra careful in their dealings with the residents.

But recent reports indicate that some staff wantonly accepts bribe to connect some residential buildings to an ailing transformer as against the standard practice. Some staff also allegedly shortchanges some areas in load shedding to the benefit of some other areas that might have greased their palms.

Also, installation of prepaid meter billing system have been hijacked by some greedy staffs who determines which area should get first and which area waits adinfinitum. Residents of Ekwulummili street in Awada have cried out recently how one Mr. Afam (surname withheld) attached to Awada service centre have been collecting amounts from N4,000 to 10,000 per flat so as to connect them quickly to the pre paid meter.

IYIOWA ODEKPE:
Their transformer is located between 185/187 Atani Road and another substation at School Road. One of the transformers out of overload blew up on 2nd May 2008. After some consultations, a meeting was convened by Chief Sunday Okeke Alias Sunny Caterpillar, in the meeting attended by one of our member, the executives of the area said that some unnamed PHCN Staff told them to present one person instead of community to avoid petition by human right groups, that they are to purchase a 500KVA transformer at the cost of N1.8million naira because according to sources, there is no transformer presently at Enugu unless the community shall wait for more than 1 year.

Each flat was levied N3,500 and about 80% of the community paid under duress. (See the flyer attached with Bank account number.) While one transformer was procured and installed, unconfirmed report alleged that over N3m was realized from this illegal levy and that the excess was shared by these facilitators with their PHCN staff accomplices, those that refused to pay are now under threat.
Presently, Ogbeukwu and other areas have been in total outage for the past seven (7)days without any explanation while their monthly bills also comes with estimate billing from N3,500 up wards.

In other parts of Anambra like Ogidi and Nnewi, the story is the same.

GRAND SUMMARY / CRITICAL OBSERVATIONS:
From all indications, prima-facie evidences making Onitsha business unit culpable of the ongoing graft and exploitation accusation are firmly serious. Any time a consumer’s meter is read and he is on credit, an estimate bill that follows will automatically out weigh the credit balance.

Our sources confirm that the management in Onitsha business unit allegedly ordered for the discontinuation of issuing bills based on meter readings, that decision was consequent upon discovery that accurate meter reading reduces consumer bills to as low as N300/400 per meter in a month. This continued criminal method was premised on the consumer’s unprecedented payment of their monthly bills no matter how outrageous especially in the event of possible threat of disconnection.

Every 2/3 bedroom flat apartment now receives monthly bill of between N2,000 and N5,000, if such bill is regulated on meter reading going by the current power supply ratio in Onitsha district which is less than eight hours supply per day, the bill will not exceed N200 mark per month.

Installation of pre-paid meters is going on at snail speed rate if not totally suspended because of a deliberate ploy to continue giving estimate billings and going on disconnection drive either to disconnect or to collect bribe from consumers.

To ensure fair hearing and balanced report, CLO went to the office of the Public Affairs Manager Onitsha Business Unit Mr. Maxwell Orjiako, Mr. Orjiako when confronted with these consumer complaints which needed some clarifications before we put ink on paper, he boasted that he is not afraid of petitions since according to him, he has a masters degree in writing from a University in Lagos State. The PRO dismissed the complain of estimate billings and also said that installation of pre paid meters for over 3 million consumers in Onitsha cannot be done overnight.
His words were more of sophistry to obscure the truth as often the characters of most clever PRO’s.

The poor service delivery system in Onitsha district is not only condemnable but needs urgent attention.

A situation whereby a community will spend over one week in total black out in order for its transformer to be tested by the so called “GRA” staff over a G&P problem is a clear case of gross incompetence. But on the other hand, if such a community provides the cash sum of between N3,000 and N5,000, the testing and reactivation will be done in a jiffy.

It is also a well known illegality that during the disconnection exercises in Onitsha, the staff indulges in disconnection of the entire residential building be it a four storey, three storey or a bungalow simply because one or two flats or rooms did not pay their monthly bills, such criminal practices are not only the order of the day but it has also become the standing policy of the district.

In most distressing cases, public power supplies is constantly and abruptly taken and transferred to some industries especially when the palms of some strategic staff of the district are greased.

DEMANDS:
Consequent upon discovery that Onitsha business unit is drenched in corruption, un-professionalism and maladministration, it has become imperative that the unit’s management and clerical staffs should be overhauled immediately.

We also demand that the estimated billing regime should be abolished in Onitsha business unit and other units in the state and meter based billing regime reverted to as a matter of uttermost immediacy.
Since the staff / marketers can afford to go on monthly disconnection regularly they have no reason for not reading meters.

A probe panel should be instituted to look into the transaction deals in Onitsha district while the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should also investigate and see to the refund of all the millions of naira allegedly fleeced from consumers in Onitsha by Engr. P.O. Emefeke and his team.

The residents of Ebonesi, Nzekwu Ojudo and Ojukwu Streets Fegge should be given a non–payment of bills period of one (1) year or its equivalent credit to each meter to cushion the effect incalculable losses recorded by the affected areas / consumers. A new transformer should also be provided for the community to replace the earlier diverted transformer due for their area since 2001( see the attached letter)

Those handling the pre– paid meter billing should also hasten up their operations so as to cover most areas in the district. This will help in curtailing these allegations of bribery for disconnection etc.

More recharge machines / portal should also be provided in the GRA office and other business units in the state.
The long queues often seen in various centers and harrowing experiences consumers pass through while trying to recharge is uncalled for.

We hope the aforesaid issues raised here shall be given expedient attention.

Yours faithfully for the CLO

Comrade Aloysius Attah Comrade Justus Ijeoma
Chairman Secretary
Anambra state branch Anambra state branch
(08035090548) (08037114869)

Comrade Simon Okpala
Former Treasurer
Anambra state branch
(07030240275)


CC:
Minister for Energy/Power
Federal Secretariat Abuja

Chairman Senate Committee on Power
National Assembly
3 Arms Zone
Abuja

Chairman House of Reps Committee on Power
National Assembly
Abuja


The Chairman
Economical & Financial Crimes Commission
Awolowo Road
Ikeja
Lagos State.

Senior Manager Distribution
C.OO PHCN Enugu Zone
Okpara Avenue
Enugu.

Engr. P.O. Emefeke
Business Manager
Onitsha PHCN Unit
22 Ridge Road GRA Onitsha.