By Nudoiba Ojen
Women in Rivers State on Tuesday stormed the office of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company to protest the prolonged power outage.
The placards-carrying women from the Mile 2 and Mile 3 axis of Diobu, Port Harcourt, marched through major streets in Diobu, including Wokoma, Dim, Wokoma lane, Obaziolu, Dim lane, Egbuagu, Azikiwe, and Ojoto streets before heading to the PHED office to register their displeasure
They lamented that their husbands barely have time for romance or sex with them at night due to intense heat waves following epileptic power supply.
Among inscriptions on the placards are: “We lack romance with our husbands’, ‘Our husbands no longer touch us at night’, No light no payment’, ‘The heat is too much,’ ‘PHED help us to sleep well with our husbands’, among others.
One of the protesters said they also find it difficult to preserve cooked foods for weeks, adding that their business had been grounded due to poor power supply by the Port Harcourt distribution firm.
According to her, areas mostly affected included Dim, Wokama, Azikiwe and Ojoto streets, even as they expressed dismay that they pay light bills monthly without a corresponding power supply.
The protesting woman, who said they could not be paying for darkness, said they would re-mobilise and come for another round of peaceful protest if the condition did not improve.
She said, “This lack of light (electricity) is making our soup sour. Even when our husbands want to make love to us, the heat will not allow it. We can’t even charge our phones and preserve our food. We are worried.”
Another protester said, “This protest is for PHED to give us light. We are paying bills, but not seeing the light. Our soup getting bad and even having sex with our husbands is a problem because of heat.
“Last night, my husband wanted to have fun with me but the heat was too much and we could not do anything. So PHED should give us light or else we will not pay the bill for this month.”
PHED Public Relations Officer, Livingstone Koko, said the current power situation was beyond the control of the company, saying, “It is a value chain constraint. It is beyond our control.
“However, we also share their sentiments and try to let them know that we are working with other players in the industry to ensure that supply is being restored. It is nothing short of what is being experienced around the country. So we are aware of the challenge and we apologise and ask them to bear with us,” he said
