Masquerades lead protest in Kwara over ‘outrageous’ electricity charges
Two masquerades on Friday led a protest in the Omu-Aran community under the Irepodun LGA of Kwara over “outrageous” electricity bills.
The protesters, mainly the youths, also rejected the community’s sudden migration from Band C to Band A in the billing regime by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).
They claimed that the migration from Band C to Band A was responsible for the outrageous bills received by residents for the month of March.
The protesters were said to have converged on Bareke roundabout, chanting war songs and carrying placards with different inscriptions.
In a video posted on X, the protesters were seen with placards that read, “Omu-Aran says no to Band A,” “Bring us back to Band C,” “Revert Omu-Aran to Band C,” and “Omu-Aran youths have spoken loudly.”
The youths said the shift in billing classification was responsible for the sharp increase in electricity charges for March 2025.
On April 3, 2024, the federal government approved an increase in electricity tariff for customers under the Band A classification, while other bands were unchanged.
Under the current structure, Band A customers are entitled to a minimum of 20 hours per day, Band B gets a minimum of 16 hours of power supply, and Band C gets 12 hours.
While category D receives a minimum of eight hours, Band E gets four hours of electricity per day.
Following the price review, Band A customers began paying N209 per kilowatt-hour, while Band B — with three to four hours difference in electricity supply — pays N63 per kilowatt-hour.
