Residents of Ondo South Senatorial District have protested against the Benin Electricity Distribution Company’s (BEDC) failure to restore power in communities in the area after 14 years of total blackouts.
In May, President Bola Tinubu inaugurated a 132 kV transmission line and 132/33 kV substation built in Erinje, Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State, to end the prolonged blackouts in the area.
Following the inauguration, communities and hamlets in Ilaje, Okitipupa, Ese-Odo, Odigbo, and Irele local government areas had not been reconnected to the national grid.
Protesting against the development, the resident armed with placards of various inscriptions, accused the distribution company of deceiving the state government that the affected communities had been reconnected.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, Olu of Igbokoda, Oba Odidi Omo Afolabi Oladimeji, since the inauguration of the substation, electricity had not been restored and the people can no longer tolerate the sabotage by the BEDC.
“We are protesting to let the Ondo State government know that BEDC has succeeded in deceiving them that there is light in the Southern Senatorial District. Out of the five local governments in the South, there is not a single one with electricity.
“We have been battling for years to say that BEDC should give us light, but they said they were waiting for the substation that was being built in Erinje before they would give it to us.
“Even when there are other routes that they could use, they insisted on using Erinje. But Erinje is now live, and up until now, there has been no electricity. The moment the place was commissioned, BEDC went to town to say, Oh, they have restored light to the area, but up to today, there is no light anywhere.
“There are about three local governments that there are no poles linking them to anywhere, and there is no way they could have light. Ilaje and Okitipupa local governments seem to have some edge; even when they bring light several times, what they bring is just 200 kilowatts, when there are 64,000 kilowatts in Erinje substation, and the 200 kilowatts are not even up to four or five houses.
Reacting, the Special Adviser to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on Energy, Johnson Alabi, said, “We are going to sit down as a team and discuss the way forward. We also know that very soon we are going to invite stakeholders to a meeting.
“About two weeks ago, we had a delegation of people from the Ondo State Electricity Regulatory Bureau and Ondo State Power Company. We sent them to that end to find out how power has been distributed and how effective they have been. The report we got was not too palatable. But then, we believe there is always a way out.”
Meanwhile, governor Aiyedatiwa has inaugurated a Committee to oversee the transition period of regulatory oversight transfer from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to the Ondo State Government.
According to Aiyedatiwa, the principal mandate of the committee is to develop modalities for the improvement of electricity supply within the state, ensure a smooth transfer of authority from federal institutions to the state and enhance local governance and control over electricity for the benefit of the people of Ondo State,
Tunji Light Ariyomo serves as the committee chairman while Johnson Alabi, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Energy serves as the vice chairman.
Other members are Iyabo Adefemi, a former regional head of BEDC and Olumayowa Ajumobi, director of planning of the Ondo State Power Company (OSPC) and Stephen Bolawole, state coordinator of the Ondo State Electricity Regulatory Bureau (OSERB) serves as the secretary.
