BENIN: Edo Leaders of Thought have raised concerns over the troubling irregularities in the power supply arrangement between Ossiomo Power Company and the Edo State Government during the administration of former Governor Godwin Obaseki.
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by its coordinator, Momodu Adams, the group dismissed a recently circulated unsigned press release purportedly from Ossiomo Power Company as “faceless” and “poorly conceived,” insisting that no credible organization issues unsigned statements.
The group revealed that its independent investigation showed that the Edo State Government holds no stake in Ossiomo Power Company Limited, contrary to public assumptions. It said the company is fully private and its challenges are internal, often affecting both government and private subscribers alike.
According to the findings, the arrangement between Ossiomo and the state was inherited by the current administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo, but was plagued by inflated bills, fluctuating tariffs, and deliberate opacity under the Obaseki government.
Edo Leaders of Thought alleged that throughout Obaseki’s tenure, government facilities were never metered, relying instead on post-paid estimated billing. It said meters were only hurriedly installed in September 2024, shortly after Obaseki’s electoral defeat and two months before he left office.
Between January and November 2024 alone, the Obaseki administration reportedly paid Ossiomo over ₦5 billion, with monthly charges ranging from ₦308 million to ₦718 million. Some of the highest bills—₦673 million in September, ₦718 million in October, and ₦474 million in November—were incurred immediately after his party lost the elections.
The group also accused Ossiomo of billing the state at erratic rates, fluctuating between ₦99.97/kWh and ₦236.78/kWh, unlike the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) which maintained regulated tariffs of ₦68/kWh until April 2024, later adjusted to ₦225/kWh.
By contrast, Governor Okpebholo, upon assuming office in December 2024, reportedly introduced prepaid meters across government facilities, ending what the group called an “opaque billing system.”
Under the new system, the state now pays Ossiomo an average of ₦199 million every 45 days, a drastic reduction from the over ₦700 million monthly charges previously incurred.
In nine months of Okpebholo’s tenure (December 2024–August 2025), the government spent ₦1.55 billion on electricity—₦1.2 billion to Ossiomo and ₦345 million to BEDC—compared to Obaseki’s ₦5 billion expenditure in just 11 months of 2024.
The group questioned Obaseki’s true interest in Ossiomo, wondering why his administration refused to meter government establishments for years, locked the state into a questionable billing system, and surrendered its electricity supply to one company at the expense of competition and accountability.
“If Obaseki’s government truly invested in Ossiomo, why were its bills 75% higher than what the same company now charges the state under Okpebholo?” the statement queried.
Edo Leaders of Thought stressed that civil society will not be distracted by unsigned statements, insisting that Edo people deserve full transparency and accountability in the management of public resources.
