There appears to be a glimmer of hope for the residents of Ife North Local Government Area of Osun State to see light again soon in the area after over a five months old total blackout in the area due to power outage.
This new hope is coming following an engagement with the management of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission on Wednesday at the floor of the State House of Assembly.
The Lawmaker representing Ife North State Constituency in the State House of Assembly, Honorable Tunde Lekan Olatunji had during the plenary of 6 October, 2021 moved a motion that the House of Assembly should summon the Managing Director of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to appear before it on Wednesday, 13th October, 2021 with the aim of resolving the power outage in the area, a motion that was granted by the house.
Describing the prolonged power outage as a gross violation of the rights of the people, the State Legislator who is also the Chief Whip of the House in a statement on Wednesday following the engagement at the house faulted the practice by the IBEDC to hold electricity customers responsible for paying the cost of solutions to power issues whenever they occur.
"Power outage is a gross violation of the rights of the people to enjoy quality and regular power supply and that in line with the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005 that provides for the establishment of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), it is unlawful and unacceptable for IBEDC to always expect the people to solve power issues through self help whenever they surface.
"The electricity customer right in Nigeria clearly states that: "It is not the responsibility of electricity customer or community to buy, replace or repair electricity transformers, poles and related equipment used in the supply of electricity", the statement read in part.
The IBEDC while acknowledging the shortcomings on their part however attributed the long delay in rectifying the issue on paucity of funds. The power distribution company in a statement by its State Regional Head Akin Ogunleye before the House revealed that the Company had been trying to manage the situation until it realized it was beyond its capacity. According to him, an estimated N90 million would be needed to restore power back to the affected communities which he said the company could not afford at the moment.
“When we were contacted on the power outage, we got to work thinking that it was a minor thing that we could fix; only to find out that the coil of the transformer had gone bad. The bill we got for the repair of the transformer was around N28 to N35 million, experience had taught us that it is not the best to repair but replace with a new one which is in the region of N90 million, which IBEDC cannot afford now”, Ogunleye said.
The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt Honourable Timothy Owoeye also expressed worry over the power situation in the area and assured the people that the house would do everything it could to ensure light is restored back to the communities. He adjourned the sitting to Wednesday, 27th of October when the IBDEC management are demanded to reappear and come up with their action plan and timeline for the final resolution of the issue.
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