Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The placards said it all. "We say no to BEDC oppression." "No light, no bill." "Edo people say no to bulk billing." But behind the slogans was a simple, devastating reality: for eight months, the communities of Ososo, Ojah, Ijiranmi, and several others in Akoko-Edo Local Government Area of Edo State have lived without electricity. On Thursday, September 24, 2026, their patience ran out. Youths from the affected communities marched through Benin City, the state capital, converging on the Edo State Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Power to demand urgent intervention. The protest, which temporarily disrupted activities at the ministry, was not just about darkness. It was about livelihoods destroyed, businesses collapsed, and a community abandoned by the very institutions meant to serve them.
Bernard Gomina, who spoke on behalf of the protesters, did not mince words. "This protest is meant to bring our plight to the public as we have not enjoyed electricity for eight months. Businesses and commercial activities have been badly affected," he said. The eight-month outage, which began in late January 2026, has crippled economic life across the affected communities. Shops that once buzzed with activity have shut down. Tailors, welders, barbers, and cold-room operators—whose trades depend entirely on electricity—have seen their livelihoods evaporate. For a rural local government area where small businesses are the backbone of the local economy, the blackout has been catastrophic.
But the frustration runs deeper than the outage itself. Another protester, who identified himself only as Abayomi, alleged that the communities had contributed huge sums of money to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) on several occasions for the repair of faulty equipment, yet the problems persisted. "We paid for repairs, and we got darkness," he said. The allegation strikes at the heart of the crisis: the communities have done what was asked of them, only to be met with silence and continued blackout. Abayomi also lamented the payment of what he described as "outrageous estimated bills" for the epileptic supply they received before the outage, and called for an alternative power distribution company if BEDC was finding it difficult to meet their needs. "If BEDC cannot supply us, let another company come in," he said. "We are tired of paying for darkness."
The lawmaker representing Akoko-Edo II Constituency in the Edo State House of Assembly, Hon. Donald Okogbe, joined the protesters at the commission, a significant gesture of solidarity that underscored the gravity of the situation. Okogbe said the people were frustrated by the prolonged outage, noting that the affected communities cut across the two state constituencies in the local government area. He revealed that the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Yekini Idaiye, who represents Akoko-Edo I, would have joined them but had other engagements. Okogbe then made a demand that could reshape the future of electricity distribution in the area. "It has become necessary to consider an alternative arrangement if BEDC can no longer provide reliable power," he said. "We urge the Edo Electricity Regulatory Commission to explore the possibility of removing the affected communities from BEDC's coverage." He stressed that power was essential for economic growth and the wellbeing of the people, urging the authorities to treat the matter as an emergency.
The officials who received the protesters offered assurances. The Chief Executive Officer of Edo SEBCO, who addressed the crowd, commended them for their peaceful conduct and disclosed that the head of the technical team for the area was already on site. He promised that power supply would be restored by Saturday, September 26, 2026. The Chairman of the Edo State Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr Shittu Shaibu, assured the lawmaker and the protesters that the commission was aware of the situation and was working to resolve it. The Commissioner for Power, Paul Osenbo, who addressed the protesters at his office, advised them to submit a memo detailing their complaints. He said the ministry was aware of the challenges confronting consumers across the state and assured them that the issues would be addressed.
But the promises rang hollow for a community that has heard them before. The Akoko-Edo blackout is not an isolated incident. It is the latest chapter in a long-running crisis of electricity distribution in Edo State, where BEDC has faced persistent criticism over poor supply, estimated billing, and a failure to invest in infrastructure. In March 2026, Governor Monday Okpebholo himself joined youths and residents at Ring Road in Benin City to protest the lingering blackout and what was described as the "outrageous estimated billing regime" of BEDC. The governor, in a moment of rare political theatre, expressed solidarity with the demonstrators and promised swift stakeholder engagement. He announced that a stakeholders' meeting would be held and urged the protesters to nominate representatives. He also vowed to break BEDC's monopoly by bringing in new investors. "We want to operate like the telecom sector, where you have alternatives," he said. Seven months later, the Akoko-Edo communities are still waiting for those alternatives. They are still waiting for the meeting. They are still in darkness.
The Edo State House of Assembly also summoned BEDC in March over the blackout, and the regulatory commission has repeatedly promised action. Yet the outages have persisted, and the communities of Ososo, Ojah, and Ijiranmi have borne the brunt of the institutional failure. The eight-month blackout in Akoko-Edo is not just an infrastructure problem. It is a governance problem. It is a failure of regulation, a failure of oversight, and a failure of the state government to hold a private monopoly accountable to the people it is licensed to serve.
For the youths who marched through Benin City, the protest was an act of desperation. They have watched their businesses collapse, their savings evaporate, and their future grow dimmer with every passing month. They have contributed money for repairs that never came. They have paid bills for power they never received. And now, they are demanding something simple and fundamental: the right to electricity, the right to economic opportunity, and the right to be heard. As Bernard Gomina put it, the protest was meant to bring their plight to the public. It remains to be seen whether anyone in authority is listening.
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