Residents of Igue-Iheya, Idunmwuowina, Ewomore and Iguosa Communities along the Benin – Lagos Expressway in Ovia North East Local Government of Edo State weekend lamented the lingering power outage in their locality spanning over a year following a faulty BEDC system, which has caused them untold hardship.
The inhabitants of these communities which had been without electricity supply had protested the darkness they were thrown into by the BEDC over a faulty facility supplying power to the area.
According to the inhabitants, “Today, Friday 16th August, 2024 marks an inglorious milestone in the lives of the inhabitants of Igue-Iheya, Idunmwuowina, Ewomore and Iguosa Communities along the Benin – Lagos Expressway in Ovia North East Local Government of Edo State. Exactly 366 days ago, the transmission feeder at Iguosa which feeds about forty transformers in these Communities went up in flames and threw all inhabitants into darkness.
An angry resident, Kingsley Okorie said the decision by BEDC to abandon the residents to languish in darkness accused BEDC of irresponsibility.
He said the Disco saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that electricity consumers in Edo, Ekiti, Ondo and Delta State receive power supply, as usual, abandoned the people of these Communities to their fate.
“It is appalling that in the 21st Century, the BEDC refused to restore power to the affected Communities for one year! What a milestone! It is more worrisome that the country is not at war. There is war in Sudan, Yemen, Ukraine, Lebanon, etc., yet these countries have power supply.
“It has been 366 days of suffering, despair, desperation, anxiety, anguish, anger, agony, grief, shame, pain, suffering, neglect, deception, deceit, lies, hopelessness, torment, distress, desolation, torment, fear, … name it, these people have seen it all.
“At times, I wonder if the Management of BEDC is made up of human beings or robots. Even robots have empathy. How do these people sleep at night knowing fully well that thousands of people have had no power supply in their homes for such a long period? How do they sleep knowing fully well that people buy fuel at the rate of ₦600-₦800 per litre to power their homes everyday so that they can have water, utilize their electrical equipment and use lighting points to illuminate their homes especially with the high inflation rate? “
Another resident who spoke to The Guardian on condition of anonymity lamented the effects of the prolonged power outage on businesses located in these Communities.
He said many tenants have refused to renew their rent and have relocated to other communities.
Maintaining that these Communities have been severely depopulated going by the power outage, he said the lack of power supply to the communities has led to attacks by burglars and armed robbers.
He said, “These Communities have become ghost towns at night. People live in constant fear of the unknown at night. Even those who have chosen the solar inverter option are potential targets of criminals who believe that owners of inverter systems must be rich.
“BEDC, what offence has these Communities committed that they cannot be forgiven? Have they not suffered enough? All our attempts to resolve this issue have been met with lies, empty promises and deceit from the BEDC. “
He continued,”I know that in saner climes where citizens of a country are regarded as citizens in deed, your Management Team would have been facing tough sanctions from relevant government agencies. Sadly, this is Nigeria where the lives of citizens don’t matter. The anguish will certainly continue but for how long?
“We may have no one speaking for us but we have our God. He will certainly reward the Management of BEDC for the wickedness it has shown members of these Communities (Proverbs 11:21a). Psalm 91:8 says “ Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked” while Isaiah 48:22 tells us that there will be no peace for the wicked. “
Some other residents told Our Correspondent that they have endured one year of your wickedness as a result of the darkness in the communities, noting that ,”In spite of BEDC’s display of unprecedented wickedness, we are resolute in our quest to survive the hardship because we are stronger than our oppressors. None of the BEDC Management team can withstand just one per cent of what we have endured the past one year.”
The management of the Disco had attributed the power outage to a faulty system and assured that efforts to get power restored to the communities are underway.
Head, BEDC Branding and Corporate Communications, Mrs. Evelyn Gbiwen said, ” The power outage in Iguosa and environs is as a result of a failed 7.5MVA power transformer at Iguosa.
“BEDC management is working round the clock to ensure that the failed power transformer is replaced.
“Soonest, Iguosa and other surrounding communities will be reconnected to the grid.”