A civil society orgarnisation, Edo Leaders of Thought, has waded into the imbroglio between Ossiomo Power Plant and the Edo State government majorly over ownership claims and rates.
The organisation in its statement signed by Momodu Adams, its coordinator, said that it undertook a private, independent investigation into the imbroglio and its findings revealed “troubling patterns of opacity, inflated costs, and questionable practices that demand answers
“From our investigations, it is clear that the Edo State government has zero stake in Ossiomo Power Company Limited. The company is 100 percent privately owned.
“The challenges facing Ossiomo are purely internal and have also affected government and private subscribers alike, with the Edo State government itself often being a victim of these disruptions.”
The group added that the arrangement between the state government and Ossiomo was inherited by the present administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo.
“For the entirety of Mr. Obaseki’s tenure, Edo State government facilities were never metered. Instead, they operated on post-paid estimated billing, under which millions of naira were paid monthly without verifiable evidence of actual consumption.
“Meters were only hurriedly installed in September 2024, immediately after the electoral defeat of his party and barely two months before he left office,” it said.
Going further, the civil society organisation asserted that between January and November 2024 alone, over ₦5 billion was paid to Ossiomo by the Obaseki administration for government establishments.
The group said monthly charges ranged from ₦308 million to as high as ₦718 million, while the highest bills, ₦673 million in September, ₦718 million in October, and ₦474 million in November, were incurred immediately after Obaseki’s party electoral defeat and just before his exit.”
It described the tariffs as not only exorbitant but unstable.
“Records show that Ossiomo charged wildly fluctuating rates between ₦99.97/kWh and ₦236.78/kWh, with no consistency from month to month.
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“By contrast, BEDC, a regulated distribution company, maintained predictable tariffs: ₦68/kWh until April 2024, later adjusted to ₦225/kWh.
“In contrast, Governor Okpebholo introduced reforms that changed the narrative. He ordered the installation of prepaid meters across government establishments, ending the opaque billing system.
“Today, government facilities pay Ossiomo an average of ₦199 million for every 45-day cycle, a drastic reduction from as high as ₦700 million monthly outflows under Obaseki.
“With prepaid metering now in place, consumption is verifiable, billing is transparent, and payments are reduced by over 75 percent.
“Between January and November 2024 alone, the Obaseki administration paid Ossiomo over ₦5 billion. In contrast, within the first nine months of Gov. Okpebholo’s tenure (December 2024 to August 2025), the state has spent only ₦1.55 billion on electricity providers; ₦1.2 billion to Ossiomo and ₦345 million to BEDC.
“This disparity raises troubling questions. Why did the Obaseki administration deliberately refuse to meter government establishments for years? Why was Edo State locked into a billing regime where billions were paid without accountability?
“What was Obaseki’s true interest in Ossiomo, a private company, that justified such extraordinary state patronage?
“And why was the entire electricity supply of the State surrendered to one company in a manner that suppressed competition and transparency?” the group asked.
