By Ifeoma Ikem
The people of Egbin/Ijede communities of Lagos have described the plan by Egbin Power Plc to share cooked food packs to the host communities as an insult to them.
The Executive Chairman of Ijede Local Government Area, Hon Salisu Fatiu Jimoh, condemned the idea during a meeting of the indigenes of Ijede Community.
Egbin Power Plant is the largest Power generating station in Nigeria and one of the largest in the West Africa sub-region with an installed capacity of 1,320 MW consisting of 6 Units of 220MW each, in Egbin/Ijede communities.
Salisu said, `the idea to share cooked food is insulting to Ijede people.
“Apart from the challenge of maintaining social distancing while sharing, the health implications of preparing cooked food pack for entire communities is a very wrong decision.
“This idea has caused some youth restiveness and this epidemic which has now become a pandemic has been given different colourations’’.
He, however, said this uncontrolled, violent and unpleasant restiveness is a way by which the communities communicate their dissatisfaction to the government or people in authority over perceived neglect of their demands and expectations.
High Chief Alliu Musediku, the Regent of Ijede, while also speaking at the meeting said, `just last week Ikeja Disco Plc, with their representatives distributed over four truck loads of relief food stuff pack to Ikeja and its environs.
He said the plan of the Egbin Power Plc is to supply cooked food to the community for one thousand persons twice a week for one month.
“Ijede is the host community, how on earth will some individual oppress, deny and treat us like less than human beings?’’, he queried.
“If I may ask, when did Egbin power plant start cooking food for the community?
“Ijede is not an Internally Displaced Persons camp (IDP), we are not beggars, all corporate bodies and stakeholders distributed food stuffs and not cooked food,’’ he said.
Musediku said that there is the need to reverse the plan as the community will not accept cooked food as a Social Intervention measure for the lockdown.
The Regent also rejected allegations that about four of the council chiefs were given N100,000 each by Egbin Power Plc.
Other Chiefs in attendance were Aro of Ijede, Odofin of Ijede, Otunba of Ijede, Mr Monsuru Bello, Mr Wahab Bello, and other members of Ajede Luwasa Day 2020 Committee.
