Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo joined residents and youths at a protest in Benin City on Monday over **persistent poor electricity supply and billing concerns linked to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), local media report.

The demonstration took place at Ring Road, one of the busiest areas in the state capital, where residents carrying placards demanded stable power supply and fair billing practices from BEDC. Protesters criticised long hours of blackout estimated billing and what they described as oppressive practices by the distribution firm, especially as unreliable electricity has affected both homes and businesses.

Governor Okpebholo said he joined the crowd spontaneously after passing by and learning about the protest, telling residents “we are all together on this issue”. He acknowledged the frustrations of Edo people saying poor electricity supply affects not only the urban centres but also families in villages across the state.

The governor clarified that BEDC is a privately-owned company and not directly under state government control but assured that steps would be taken to tackle the power challenges. He said the administration plans to engage more stakeholders and investors in the electricity sector to break the current monopoly and bring alternative operators into distribution, similar to how the telecommunications industry functions.

Okpebholo announced that a stakeholders’ meeting will be held to address the grievances raised by the protesters, and he encouraged them to nominate five representatives to participate in discussions aimed at finding concrete solutions to the electricity woes.

Protesters carried banners with slogans such as “We pay for light and they give us darkness” and “No light no bill,” highlighting anger over estimated billing practices and prolonged blackouts that have continued despite payments made by consumers.

The protest reflects growing frustration among electricity consumers in Nigeria who have complained of frequent outages and a lack of reliable power delivery, issues attributed by industry analysts to inadequate generation and transmission challenges across the national grid.