Residents of Owode-Ede communities in Ede North Local Government Area of Osun State on Wednesday stormed the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) in Osogbo to protest the epileptic power supply affecting 120 communities in the area.
Speaking, the Coordinator of the chairmen of Owode-Ede communities, Mr. Adekunle Ismail, lamented that the epileptic power supply has crippled business activities in the area.
Ismail said that many people who built houses in the communities have sold their properties to move to better places.
He stressed they have made several efforts on how to restore power supply to the community but all their effort proved abortive.
He disclosed that “We came down here from Owode Ede, Osun states. The people you are see here are the representative of each Community in Owode Ede and we have no less than 120 communities in Owode Ede officially.
“We are here at the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) Business Hub to express our grievances regarding the epileptic power supply in Owode Ede communities.
“They have placed us in Band C, but our agitation now is that they should revert us to Band E, since we are not enjoying any reliable electricity supply. In a 24-hour period, some of us don’t even get 20 to 30 minutes of electricity.
“The majority of people living in Owode-Ede have left, some have even sold their houses, and tenants are no longer coming to rent houses in the area.
“The epileptic power supply has really affected a lot of things; business activities in Owode have crumbled. That’s why we plead with them to see our plight and restore power in Owode-Ede immediately.
“We don’t want a situation where the people we represent come to this place and cause chaos. That’s why we urged them to remain calm, and as their representatives, we have come here to represent them and register our grievances.”
One of the chairmen, Owode Ede communities, Olusola Jacob said that they have held several meetings with the IBEDC staff and elders of the communities in Owode Ede.
Jacob said, “We have held several meetings, the most recent one with IBEDC staff and our monarch. During the meeting, the IBEDC staff informed us that they cannot meet the electricity demands of the Owode-Ede communities. They explained that there is no machinery in place to support the required electricity supply, as the step-down transformer cannot handle the load of Owode, and the existing feeder cannot accommodate the load.
“We visited the NEC meeting twice last year, and the conclusion was that they should create another feeder and they should place us in a band that matches the electricity supply they committed to providing, which, to date, they have failed to deliver.”
