Worried by the hopeless power distribution system in the state, the Delta State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has called on the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to take urgent steps to check the ugly trend or be prepared to put up with a belligerent press in the state.
The union is a statement made available to the press, lamented the steady decline in the number of hours hitherto allocated by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) in shedding loads to its consumers, saying in any society, improvement was usually expected but with BEDC, the reverse had been the case.
In the statement issued by the Chairman of the Council, Comrade Michael Ikeogwu and Secretary, Comrade Churchill Oyowe, the union also bemoaned the rate at which transformers and its accessories were being vandalized.
The union blamed the frequent vandalism on the load shedding, arguing that it had given the vandals ample opportunity to carry out their dastardly act since they could easily determine when power was on and off the facilities.
It said the BEDC, being a profit making organization, should operate with a friendly disposition towards its customers by ensuring the swift replacements and repairs of faulty equipments.
The union frowned at the practice by BEDC of using delay tactics, coined under due process to compel the consumers to self help, warning that it would one day snowball into a crisis situation for the company.
While condemning the continued practice of estimated billing of customers by the BEDC, the union called on both the Federal and Delta State Governments to make the BEDC be more alive to its responsibilities or be shown the way out of the state for a more serious investor to take charge.
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