Edo Leaders Want Transparency In Ossiomo Power Deals

Edo Leaders of Thought, a salient civilian nine organisation, has expressed sedate concerns implicit a circulating unsigned papers purportedly from Ossiomo Power Company. It describes the papers arsenic faceless and poorly conceived and notes that nary credible organisation issues unsigned property releases.
The radical noted that they were compelled to embark connected an Independent probe successful the tone of transparency to unravel the facts successful the imbroglio betwixt Ossiomo Power Plant and the Edo State Government.

The group’s coordinator, Momodu Adams, disclosed successful a property connection made disposable to LEADERSHIP that their uncovering revealed alleged inflated costs and questionable practices that request answers.
Against cognition successful definite quarters, the radical clarified that the Edo State Government has zero involvement successful Ossiomo Power Company Limited and that the institution is 100% privately owned.
“The challenges facing Ossiomo are purely interior and person besides affected authorities and backstage subscribers alike, with the Edo State Government often being a unfortunate of these disruptions.
Momodu, who hailed the contiguous past medication of erstwhile Governor Godwin Obaseki for the innovation of creating the situation for the backstage assemblage to found powerfulness plants successful Edo, however, noted that “it was riddled with inflated bills, fluctuating tariffs, and deliberate opacity.
He said, “For the entirety of Mr Obaseki’s tenure, Edo State Government facilities were ne'er metered. Instead, they operated connected post-paid estimated billing, nether which millions of naira were paid monthly without verifiable grounds of existent consumption.

“Meters were lone hurriedly installed successful September 2024, instantly aft his party’s electoral decision and hardly 2 months earlier helium near office.

“Between January and November 2024 alone, implicit ₦5 cardinal was paid to Ossiomo by the Obaseki medication for authorities establishments. Monthly charges ranged from ₦308 cardinal to arsenic precocious arsenic ₦718 million.

“The highest bills, ₦673 cardinal successful September, ₦718 cardinal successful October, and ₦474 cardinal successful November, were incurred instantly aft Obaseki’s party’s electoral decision and conscionable earlier his exit.

“The tariffs were not lone exorbitant but unstable. Records amusement that Ossiomo charged wildly fluctuating rates betwixt ₦99.97/kWh and ₦236.78/kWh, with nary consistency from period to month.
“By contrast, BEDC, a regulated organisation company, maintained predictable tariffs: ₦68/kWh until April 2024, aboriginal adjusted to ₦225/kWh.

“In contrast, Governor Okpebholo introduced reforms that changed the narrative. He ordered the installation of prepaid meters crossed authorities establishments, ending the opaque billing system.

“Today, authorities facilities wage Ossiomo an mean of ₦199 cardinal for each 45-day cycle, a drastic simplification from arsenic precocious arsenic ₦700 cardinal monthly outflows nether Obaseki.
It continued, “With prepaid metering present successful place, depletion is verifiable, billing is transparent, and payments are reduced by implicit 75 per cent.

“Between January and November 2024 alone, the Obaseki medication paid Ossiomo implicit ₦5 billion. In contrast, wrong the archetypal 9 months of Governor Okpebholo’s tenure (December 2024 to August 2025), the State has spent lone ₦1.55 cardinal connected energy providers; ₦1.2 cardinal to Ossiomo and ₦345 cardinal to BEDC.

“This disparity raises troubling questions. Why did the Obaseki medication deliberately garbage to metre authorities establishments for years? Why was Edo State locked into a billing authorities wherever billions were paid without accountability?

“ What was Obaseki’s genuine involvement successful Ossiomo, a backstage company, that justified specified bonzer authorities patronage? And wherefore was the full energy proviso of the State surrendered to 1 institution successful a mode that suppressed contention and transparency?

“Our autarkic probe has besides brought to airy different poser: if, arsenic Mr Obaseki consistently claimed, his medication invested heavy successful Ossiomo and offered the institution an unfastened manus of fellowship, wherefore past were his government’s energy bills 75% higher than what Governor Okpebholo present pays to the aforesaid institution for the aforesaid service? This inconsistency suggests the beingness of shadowy deals that the nationalist has yet to beryllium told.

“As a civic organisation committed to accountability, we indispensable importune that these issues beryllium brought to light. The Edo radical merit afloat disclosure. Transparency is not optional. It is the cornerstone of ideology and bully governance”

When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo, Fred Itua, confir...