About 80 communities, under the umbrella of the Iwo Road/Lalupon Feeder Electricity Consumer Association, in Ibadan, Oyo State have expressed displeasure at electricity distribution, accusing the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) of intentionally throwing them into darkness.
The leaders of the affected communities made the allegation during an extended public engagement summoned by the IBEDC to have a public discussion with the communities and fashion out ways of resolving the 10 years of erratic power supply in the area.
The Association Chairman, Rev. Jide Kehinde, said that the Association had thought the management of the IBEDC would be able to allay the fears of the people and tell the people what they want, but they were disappointed because none of the IBEDC staff showed up at the meeting.
Kehinde stated that the development had shown that the IBEDC had intentionally thrown the communities into darkness since 2011 because the company had refused to cooperate with the Association on the way forward but was rather interested in outrageous billings for electricity not consumed.
He stated: “We have resolved, in our meeting today, that IBEDC should link us to the Iwo Transmission Station as suggested by the National Electricity Regulatory Council (NERC) when we brought our complaints before the Council.
“NERC in its wisdom realised that linking Iwo Road/Lalupon Feeder to the Iwo Transmission Station is the only solution to the erratic electricity supply being experienced by the consumers in the affected communities.”
Recounting previous efforts made to ensure that IBEDC links the Lalupon Feeder to the Iwo Transmission Station, the Chairman said the communities had decided to contribute money for the execution of the project but IBEDC refused to give approval for execution.
Kehinde said the communities had been waiting for the approval since March but IBEDC kept on promising to do it without any positive action.
He said the communities had called on the electricity company to give them power supply without further delay, as they were giving other feeders and that their feeder should be metered.
Kehinde said also that they would no longer pay estimated bills because they were on band E, which is N32.26 per 4hours/day, Not band C, which is N65.97 per 8 hours/day.
He stated: “Thus the Association shall not be held responsible for the breakdown of law and order and the peace that exists between IBEDC and their communities due to the company’s inefficiency.”
A cross-section of the community heads and residents who spoke with newsmen at the end of the meeting lamented that their communities had been experiencing erratic power supply in the last 10 years without any concrete solution from IBEDC.
He said stressed that they no longer have confidence in the announcement and activities of the IBEDC toward their respective communities.
The traditional ruler of Lagun community, Chief Olalekan Bello, accused IBEDC of being insensitive to their plight, saying the epileptic power supply had led to closure of businesses in his community and many artisans using electricity to power their businesses had closed shops due to the power supply problem.
On his part, the Vice Chairman of Wakajaye Community, Alhaji Laidi Adesina, affirmed that the kind of treatment they were receiving from IBEDC was annoying, saying that the erratic power supply had created serious securitchallengesge within his community.
Adesina said that the majority of the houses in the entire community were empty because their tenants had packed out as they could not cope with the prolonged blackout,
He urged the power company to show concerforto the plight of the affected communities by taking concrete steps to address the erratic electricity supply in the area.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of IBEDC, Ms. Busolami Tunwase, refuted the claim that the company was less concerned about the erratic electricity supply in the affected communities.
She said that no Distribution Company (DISCO) would deliberately keep any community in darkness and that the supply situation in Lalupon is as a result of the network area.
“The lengthy feeder is susceptible to frequent fault, our maintenance unit has been mandated to ensure that all faults are cleared promptly. We apologise for all inconveniences,” Tunwase added.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
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