Muhammed Abubakar, Reporting
CONCERNED youths of the Irigwe Chiefdom have taken to the streets to protest an 11-year prolonged power outage in Miango town, Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State, describing the blackout as a “self-inflicted injury” and demanding transparency and accountability to restore electricity to the community.
Addressing newsmen at the NUJ Secretariat in Jos on Tuesday, spokesman Bitrus Adamu Izhi revealed the intricate details of how a manageable debt ballooned into a protracted crisis.
According to Izhi, prior to a Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) meeting in Abuja in December 2016, the registered customer population in Miango stood at 682, with an outstanding post-privatisation debt of N51,418,095.27. Following reconciliation, the debt was reduced to N38 million by Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC) in June 2017, following NERC’s intervention.
“The N38 million was to be migrated and shared amongst metered individual customers in Miango community as directed by NERC in their memo of December 14, 2017,” Izhi explained. “Of this 38 million Naira, the consumers have remitted 28 million and are left with a balance of 10 million Naira.”
Izhi disclosed that the District Head of Miango, His Highness Mr Daniel Chega, had constituted a committee to galvanise the community towards settling the debt. However, the committee allegedly exceeded its mandate and established a company—Miango Community Energy Project Enterprise—without the knowledge or consent of consumers.
The company, chaired by Mr Williams Chatalas, with Mr John Willy Iche as Secretary, Mr Haruna Jibo as Financial Secretary, and Pastor Emmanuel Benedict Zamfara as Treasurer, subsequently entered into an arrangement with JEDC as the sole agent for fund collection.
“To achieve this, JEDC then unilaterally without knowledge or consent of the consumers suspended their accounts and registered a single account through which the intermediary company began collecting electricity bills from consumers in Miango,” Izhi stated.
The community had assumed that all funds paid and donations from concerned illustrious sons were being used to offset the debt. However, this was not the case, and JEDC proceeded to disconnect the entire town.
“This disconnection has lingered for 11 years and every attempt to seek answers from the committee failed. As at May 2023, the total amount owed JEDC by the Miango Community Energy Project Enterprise is 194,912,366.86 Naira,” Izhi revealed.
The spokesman acknowledged that the paramount ruler, H.R.H. Braa Nggwe Rigwe Rev. Ronku Aka (rtd), had attempted to secure accountability from the committee. When the committee refused to cooperate, the monarch dissolved it using his veto power.
The protesting youths are now appealing to Governor Caleb Mutfwang to intervene, recalling his promise at the 2025 Irigwe Cultural Day to restore power to Miango. They are advocating for an investigative committee to audit the company and compel it to open its books, with prosecution recommended if culpability is found.
Their demands include ascertaining JEDC’s role in imposing the company on the people, and where guilt is found, the EFCC, ICPC, and Police should arrest those who betrayed public trust.
“We demand that the company be stopped from transacting with JEDC on behalf of Miango consumers. JEDC should restore all suspended individual accounts and stop dealing with the company on Miango billing,” the youths declared.
The group thanked the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Bernard Doro, and other Rigwe stakeholders for their support. However, they issued a stern warning to prominent silent personalities, stating that “their actions and inactions will be remembered.”
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