By Ayodele Oni
Residents of towns in Ondo South Senatorial District of Ondo state have stormed Akure to protest a perceived sabotage from the officials of Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) towards restoration of electricity to the region after 14 years of total blackout.
President Bola Tinubu, had in May, inaugurated a power substation with a 132 kV transmission line and 132/33 kV transformers for the area after 14 years blackout.
After the inauguration of the substation, communities in the Okitipupa, Ilaje, Irele, Odigbo, and Ese-Odo Local Government Areas in Ondo South senatorial district, which had been without power supply, were expected to be reconnected to the national grid.
However, the protesters who were armed with various placards alleged that officials of the BEDC have been deceiving the state government and Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa by telling lies that light has been restored to the areas.
Speaking on behalf of the protesters, the Olu of Igbokoda, Oba Odidi Omo Oladimeji said since the inauguration of the substation, light has not been restored and the people could no longer tolerate the sabotage by the BEDC.
Oba Oladimeji explained that “We are protesting to let the ondo state government know that BEDC has succeeded in deceiving them that there is light in Southern Senatorial District. Out of the five local governments in the South, there is no single one with electricity.
“We have been battling for years to say that BEDC should give us light, but they said they are waiting for the substation that was being built in Erinje before they would give us, even when there are other routes that they could use. But they insisted on using Erinje. But Erinje is now live, and up to now there is 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.
“And actually, 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 that seem to have some edge, even when they will bring light several times, what they bring its just 200 kilowatts, when there are 64,000 kilowatts in Erinje substation, and the 200 kilowatts is not even up to four or five houses.
“So we want the government to know that for 11 years that BEDC has taken over as a disco, they have not given us light for one day and we cannot continue that way.
“We want the government to cancel the license of BEDC over that area completely, we don’t want that. Since they have denied us electricity deliberately for 11 years, their thinking is that that area is not viable.
“So there is nothing anybody can do, they won’t do anything.The little repairs that were done in our infrastructures were done by NDDC, not even BEDC.
“Now that there is electricity in Erinje, BEDC will go around homes to tell people to go and contribute money for poles, for the cables that are needed to do the stringing, for the repairs of their transformers. We feel that this is illegal, this is unfair.
“We found out that most of the transformers are vandalized. When we did a joint enumeration before Erinje came on board, we discovered that 95 percent of the infrastructure are damaged.
“We have the records. Joint enumeration by BEDC and the community. In that area, 95percent transformers, poles were damaged and they said they do not have the money to do it.
“So even when they said they are commissioning in Erinje, we were shouting at them, how do you commission in Erinje and you have not done any repairs? They said, oh, don’t worry, up to today nothing has been done. They want the people to continue to fold their arms? No.
“The second thing that we want is that, since the Ondo state government now has the power to license independent electricity distribution companies, we want an independent electricity company to be given to that region, if possible, to give us light.
“Because that is the concern we have. The new law says that each of the DISCOs should register some disco for the purpose of the states.
“It has expired last week. Up till today, disco did not register any, which is a way of showing their flagrant disobedience to law, to circumvent their responsibility of giving the people light.
“The third thing we are asking for, is that the Ondo state government should allow for proper competition.
“I am sure that the governor told everybody that there is light and the government must have believed that there is light. If we didn’t do all this, a lot of people in Akure would think we have light, but there is no light anywhere.
“You know what they did? When BEDC was going to bring light the first day, They put light in the Governor’s house. They put light in the house of the engineer that built Erinje substation. But the truth is that they deliberately repaired a transformer around the Governor’s house, energized it, and sent the light there.
“All other areas where the light could go, they got them off, Up till today. In order to seal my mouth, they sent a meter to my house.
“How does a meter work without a token work? and it is prepaid. So, they hanged it out there, so that anybody passing by will see that, oh, Kabiesi has a meter.
“That is a deceit. Once he has a meter, he won’t talk. Because I have been one of those in the forefront that BEDC does not and cannot do this work.They have shown it.
“How do you ask me to go and buy poles to erect for you to give me light and there you will charge me ?
“Or you ask me to go and contribute money so that you can buy oil to the transformers, repair the transformers. Once that is done, it belongs to you. And you ask me to come and pay estimated billing. No. So, we want the government to help us.
“We know the government has already tried. The O Datiwa meter is an effort. The steps taken by the Ondo State Regulatory Bureau is a step. The steps taken by the SA, Alabi Johnson, he has visited our area more than three or four times. It’s a step.
“But BEDC is a saboteur and their sabotage will make the government look like not doing anything. Is it the business of the state government to buy meters? No. But because the government just felt that that’s part of what it could do to help the people.
“Because the excuse of BEDC is that, oh, you know, you don’t have meters. We can’t give you light. Who’s supposed to give us meters? Are they not the one ?”
Reacting, Johnson Alabi, the Special Adviser to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa on Energy said, “Their grievances are that there is no power in most parts of the Southern Senatorial District and that since the commissioning of the Erinje Substation, that it’s only a few people that are able to enjoy light, if at all there is.
