Residents of some communities in Obafemi Local Government Area of Ogun State are angry over the power outages currently occurring in their communities. The situation, which has continued for several weeks, has halted business activities in affected communities such as Ibafo, Magboro, Makogi, Oke-Afa and Aseese, and its environs.
A landlord in Magboro who did not want his name in print said-
“the situation started before the presidential election of February 25 and persists.”
A housewife, simply identified as Iya Bola, said the situation was unbearable due to the hot weather currently being experienced.
“My rechargeable fan used to enable me to sleep well during the nights when it was not our community’s turn to have electricity because the power supply to us gets rationed.
“Sadly, with the total blackout, I have been unable to recharge the fan and it has been difficult sleeping at night because of the heat,” she said.
A frozen food trader at a market in Oke-Afa, Yemisi Ajiboye, lamented the amount she had been spending on fuel to power her generator to keep her business floating.
“I cannot remember the amount I have spent on petrol since this total blackout started. I always have to rush down to the market early to power the generator so that the frozen food in my refrigerator will not spoil,” she said.
Another trader, Babatunde Azeez, lamented that no one seemed to be bothered enough to speak out against the continued power outage.
“Perhaps, it’s because of the general election; they seem distracted. Maybe the situation will change now that the elections are over,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a statement on Monday, the management of the Ibadan Electric Distribution Company said a technical fault on a 33KVA feeder was responsible for the blackout in the communities.
The IBEDC listed other affected areas as Magada and Ago Igbala.
It said work was currently on to restore power to the affected communities.
The statement read-
“Dear esteemed customers in Magboro, Makogi, Magada, Ago Igbala, Oke-Afa, Ibafo, part of Aseese and environs, we sincerely apologise for the power outage currently being experienced in your community. Kindly note that this is a result of a technical fault on the Ibafo 33KVA feeder.
“Our technical team is working to ensure the power supply is restored.”
cc: Punch Ng
