Business owners and residents of Ibadan and its environs say sustained poor power supply from Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has been ruining their business and socio-economic activities.
The residents and entrepreneurs voiced out their opinion while speaking to newsmen on the lingering poor power supply situation in Ibadan, the second largest city in Africa.
The residents, drawn from different parts of the Ibadan said power supply had been terrible in some areas for years and months in other parts.
The story is the same in all the 11 local governments in Ibadanland.
Mr John Adedapo, who lives in Ibadan North Local Council of the state, decried the worsening power supply situation.
Adedapo said he is determined to abandon supplies from the DISCO and search for an alternative supply.
A senior officer in the Oyo State government, who stays at Kolapo Isola Estate in Lagelu Local Council also lamented the poor power supply.
‘’In my area at Kolapo Isola Estate, it is terrible’’, he said.
In Oluyole Local Government, residents of Ayegun, Oleyo, Koso, New Garage, Olomi, Olunde and others lamented the maltreatment being meted out to them by the IBEDC.
They submitted that the IBEDC had been subjecting them to difficulty and harrowing experiences through poor quality supply of electricity.
They expressed surprise that the Minister of Power , Adebayo Adelabu who is from the local government can sit by and allow IBEDC to be foisting hardship on them.
The residents urged Adelabu to get IBEDC back to work or dismantle it for another DISCO to take over, saying that IBEDC should not be allowed to cause havock in Ibadan.
Wale Owoade, who stays at the Monatan area of Ibadan, berated the distribution company, saying the supply has been suboptimal.
He explained that he had spent over two years in his house but he had not used up to N10,000 electricity bill.
Owoade said : ‘’I have spent over two years in the house but I have not used up to N10,000 electricity bill.’’
Also, the founder of Ibadan Entrepreneur Network, Dr Oyenike Adeleke, also expressed disgust amd frustration over poor quality service of IBEDC.
Adeleke added that most of her home appliances had been damaged due to poor and low power supply.
She said : ‘’The power supply is terrible. It is too erratic. When it is restored, it will have low voltage. It has damaged many of my devices and bulks.”
Speaking on the development, an energy expert, Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, said there would be a need to improve distribution.
“It could be pole collapse, and old infrastructure. There is a need to improve distribution,” he said.
Reacting, IBEDC said it was committed to improving power supply in Ibadan.
The management in a statement made available to The Guardian, reads:”The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) acknowledges the concerns of residents in Monatan, Kolapo Isola, Bodija, and other areas in Ibadan regarding poor power supply.
“We sincerely regret the inconvenience this has caused our esteemed customers.
“IBEDC remains committed to providing reliable and improved electricity services.
“The current power challenges are due to a combination of factors, including load allocation constraints from the national grid, technical faults, and ongoing network upgrades.”
The power company said it was addressing the issues through network maintenance and upgrades, stakeholders’ engagement, deployment of additional resources, and customers’ engagement.
“IBEDC assures residents that we are making continuous efforts to improve electricity distribution and appreciate their patience and cooperation.
“We remain committed to serving our customers better,” the management added.
(Guardian Newspaper/vitalnewsngr.com)
