Outcry as IBEDC plunges residents into weeks blackout in Ogun State

Residents of some communities in the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State are currently lamenting a three-week blackout being experienced in their areas.

The blackout communities in Ogun State include Ibafo, Magboro, Makogi, Oke-Afa, Aseese, Magada, and Ago Igbala.

The blackout has grounded business activities in these communities and has made life unbearable for the residents.

A landlord in Magboro, who preferred to remain anonymous, stated that the situation started before the presidential election of February 25th and has persisted since then.

A housewife, identified only as Iya Bola, also described the situation as unbearable, especially due to the hot weather currently being experienced.

She explained that her rechargeable fan used to enable her to sleep well during the nights when it was not their community’s turn to have electricity.

Still, with the total blackout, she has been unable to recharge the fan, making it difficult to sleep at night because of the heat.

“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.

Similarly, traders in the affected communities have also been lamenting the impact of the power outage on their businesses.

A frozen food trader at a market in Oke-Afa, Yemisi Ajiboye, explained that she had spent an enormous amount of money on fuel to power her generator to keep her business afloat.

“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.

He suggested that perhaps the general elections distracted people, and now that the elections are over, the situation may change.

“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 issued by the management of the Ibadan Electric Distribution Company on Monday, 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 and stated that work was ongoing to restore power to the affected communities.

The statement apologized to customers in the affected communities for the inconvenience and assured them that power supply would be restored soon.

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 power supply is restored.”

The continued power outage has caused immense suffering for the residents and business owners in the affected communities.

The IBEDC must work expeditiously to resolve the technical fault and restore power to the affected communities to alleviate the hardship being experienced.