Alhaji Tanko Jibril, the Gomo of Kuje, a suburb of the Federal capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, has warned residents of the area against tampering with electricity equipment, saying that “all vandals are economic saboteurs and must be handed over to the relevant authorities for prosecution.”

In his brief remarks at a customer forum organised by Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) at the Kuje Town Hall on Saturday, the Gomo, who is also the Chairman of the Council of Traditional Rulers in the area, further warned all monarchs under his province to ensure the protection of electricity equipment in their respective areas.

“All of us should be ‘Ambassadors of AEDC’ against vandals. We must be very vigilant and report economic saboteurs. This is necessary for us to help them (AEDC) to sustain the relative steady power supply that we currently enjoy in Kuje,” Alhaji Tanko Jibril stated.

He also used the opportunity to enjoin all residents to cooperate with the utility on the new tariff regime that takes effect from today, February 1, 2016. “We all know the value of electricity to our lives and must therefore help the AEDC to serve us better,” the royal father said.

Also speaking, the Interim Chairman of the Kuje Electricity Consumers Forum, Mr. Bayo Odejinmi, aligned himself with the position of the monarch, saying that “power supply has improved in Kuje in recent times.”

He said: “I also want to support the Gomo’s position by appealing for understanding on the upcoming tariff increase because electricity from the national grid will still be cheaper than powering our generator sets.”

Mr. Odejinmi advised all electricity consumers in the area to acquire meters, saying that “once you have meters there will be no need for fights again with AEDC staff.”

The Forum chairman however called on the AEDC to use the opportunity of the tariff adjustment to upgrade its facilities in Kuje, adding that the company should also increase the number of its staff in the area to ensure speedy clearance of faults and response to customers’ complaints.

Earlier on, the Regional Manager of AEDC for FCT South, Engr. Abdulmutalib Mohammed, and the Area Manager of Kuje, Hajiya Jummai Suleiman, had appealed to customers to refrain from all forms of hostilities against staff of the company during their legitimate duties.

Hajiya Jummai also urged the customers to pay their electricity bills, decrying that in December last year alone, the Kuje area office of the company incurred a loss of over N25 million in the power supplied to it for that month.

•Photo shows electricity transmission facilities.