Residents of Ogwashi-Uku, headquarters of Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State have lamented over power supply to the town in recent times.
Stakeholders in the polytechnic town, including students, want the concerned authorities to change the narrative by improving on the supply, saying “we are tired of excuses from power provider, Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).
“We will no longer accept a situation where the distribution company gives us light sometimes 10 minutes in a day..
Any time we see light in the day lasting more than expected and before you know they will bring bills that are always outrageous
“We understand the power challenges across the country but the world should know that the way Ogwashi-Uku people are treated in the midst of the challenges is unacceptable.
“The annoying thing is that nearby communities such as Ibusa and Ubulu-Uku enjoy stable and longer periods of electricity supply. It will not be much if Ogwashi-Uku gets at least 10 or 15 hours of light a day maybe in two parts.”
The action of the Ogwashi-Uku residents coincided with the report that the state rural development agency’s completed projects across the state were wasting away as a result of delay in switching them on to the national grid by BEDC after the body authorised by law to certify such projects had completed its assignment.
General Manager of the agency, Morris Ogochukwu, disclosed this during the agency’s management courtesy visit on BEDC at their headquarters in Benin City, Edo State where he further condemned and frowned at the poor metering and over billing of the consumers in the state.
Chairman of the board, Smart Maka, also hinted that any failure or delay from BEDC in powering already completed projects will negatively affect service delivery to the people of the state.
Meanwhile, Change Makers Forum, a non-governmental organisation has petitioned the senator representing Delta North at the National Assembly, Senator Ned Nwoko and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Honourable Ngozi Okolie about the deteriorating power supply to the Ogwashi-Uku town.
In the petition signed by Mr Feyisetan Akeeb Kareem, the group expressed anger that despite exploitation by the distribution company, supply to Ogwashi-Uku continued to be in the downward curve .
Part of the petition reads: “We the residents of Ogwashi-Ukwu in Aniocha South Local Goverment Area of Delta State no longer understand the offence or sin we have committed that Benin Electricity Distribution Company has refused to supply us power.”
However, the Regional Manager of BEDC in Asaba, Henry Onovwaka, blamed the poor power to the drastic reduction in the supply the state receives on allocation..
He said the distribution company had never tasked consumers to contribute money for transformers.
He said the light situation in the town and neighbouring communities will improve as soon as there improvement at the national level.
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