Residents Berate IBEDC Over Blackout

By Yussuf Abdulfatai and Toyeeb Akanni

Residents of Communities affected by the blackout in Olorunda and Osogbo Local Government council Areas of the State of Osun have berated the management of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company for paralysing commercial activities in their areas.

It would be recalled that some communities in the affected local governments including Testing ground, Orita Sabo, Aderin, Oluode, Ayetoro, part of Owode, Iludun, Oke Odo, Kola-Balogun and Atelewo have been without electricity supply since the 5th day of September, 2017 a situation that made living difficult for them.

According to a resident, Mrs Sadiat Idowu “since the electricity has been faulty, I cannot express how tough life has been for me, because I am mostly surviving on selling cold drinks like water, soft drinks and since the blackout issue over a month now, it has been very difficult to make ends meet”.

Another resident who pleaded anonymity also condemned IBEDC, saying it has caused his business a lot of damage being the owner of a frozen store at Oluode market.

“I cannot quantify the amount of loss I have incurred since the blackout even with the fact that I operate on generator daily, I still record a lot of damaged product. The situation is just very pathetic for many of us who own businesses in the affected communities”, the source added.

A technician affected by the situation, Mr Sunday Oni also stated that the blackout has rendered his business redundant and has made life difficult for his family as he has been unable to fend for them for three weeks.

Another resident also said, “It is very unpleasant and difficult for me to live without electricity because I cannot be sleeping in darkness and as a result of this, I cannot estimate what I have spent on petrol everyday”.

The Baale of Aderin community, Alfa Waheed Salam charged the management of IBEDC to as a matter of urgency come to the aid of the affected communities by speeding up work on the replacement of the damaged conductors, with a view to making life more conducive for the masses.

He added that the lack of electricity on the transmission lines has been leading to stealing of cables in some areas which would eventually lead to other expenses if power is eventually restored to the areas.

The various residents of the affected communities also pleaded with the appropriate authorities to implore IBDEC management not to abandon the communities in perpetual darkness for the sake of security of lives and properties in the respective communities.