The traditional ruler of Egbin Kingdom and a First Class King in Lagos, Oba (Dr.) Adeoriyomi Abdul-Akeem Oyebo (arpa), has blamed the management of Egbin Power Plant for the impoverished state of the people of the community.
Egbin Power Plant, situated in Egbin, a suburb of Ikorodu in Ijede Local Council Development Area, Lagos, is Nigeria's largest power plant which supplies light to 70% part of the country.
According to Oba Oyebo, in spite of being home to Nigeria's most important power station, Egbin community lacks basic amenities such as schools, adding the forceful acquisition of the 623 hectares of land in the community on which the company was built deprived the people of their source of livelihood such as fishing and farming.
He further said the people do not enjoy electricity supply from the company.
Oyebo denied the allegation that the people in the community were wasting the light in the past, as alleged by the company, which was the reason they have been deprived of electricity.
"We have some houses in Egbin that are just four rooms and the people living there don't even have television or any other electronic gadgets. So how have they been misusing the light? There was a time I told the owners of the power plant we are not going to pay any electricity bill in this town," Oyebo fumes.
He added: "Do you know how many hectares of land was forcefully taken from our people to build the power plant because they were not literate then? 623 hectares of our land were taken, the size of which is more than a town. The land was fenced and we cannot assess it anymore. Those who had land for farming or fishing could no longer do so because their land had been taken and they no longer had a source of income to pay bills. Where do they want them to get N5,000 monthly for their electricity bill? What's the essence of bringing a power plant here? There should be a Community Social Responsibility, CSR, from the company to the people.
The monarch said he has made efforts to develop the community by building a school for the community from his personal resources, a responsibility he said ought to have been taken up by the company.
"As at the time this land was acquired, there was no written agreement between the community and the company and that is what I am trying to correct. I have made several efforts. I have told the governor that the company is not performing its responsibility to the community. Performance is not about you bringing me a car because you are celebrating five years of taking over the company. I left the car there where they packed it, I didn't touch it till date for the past three years. I told them to go and do something meaningful the entire community can benefit from. It was when they did not do it that I decided to build a school at all cost. I am starting secondary school in September.
Many of our leaders went to school on government scholarships but they have failed to replicate such to these young generations."
He called on Lagos State and the Federal government to compel the company to live up to its social responsibility to the community.
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