The management of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company on Thursday met representatives of civil society organisations, security agencies, and community leaders in Osun State to seek ways of de-escalating tension caused by the persistent poor power supply to communities in the state.
Speaking at the meeting held in Osogbo, the state capital, the Lead Media Relations of IBEDC, Daniel Adugbo, said the gathering was meant to explain the current power situation to the critical stakeholders.
Adugbo explained that the irregular power supply was caused by the constraints in gas production that hampered electricity generation.He said IBEDC could not refuse to distribute energy it was supplied, adding that the company was rationing the quantity it was supplied by the producers.
“We are here to meet with critical stakeholders to explain the prevailing electricity supply situation within our coverage.
“What is happening is a national issue. We have constraints from the gas production section because it is with gas that we power most of our power plants to be able to produce most of the electricity.“There has been a decline in terms of gas supply to the generating companies and that has also affected us at the distribution end. So, we have reduced supply from transmission to be able to distribute to customers. We are now constrained into doing load shedding,” Adugbo said.He expressed hope that the situation would soon improve to enable the company to serve its customers.
In his remarks, the Osogbo IBEDC Regional Head, Ifeanyi Ikeji, sought the understanding of residents regarding the power situation, adding that the company was not having enough supply from the energy producers.
Ikeji said the situation had affected the income of the company and put pressure on energy infrastructure in the state.
Speaking at the meeting, the convener of Nigerians for Good Governance, Wole Oladapo, urged IBEDC to liaise with relevant government agencies to work on the best approach to discourage energy theft.Oladapo, who observed rising tension over poor power supply in the state, said making energy unavailable for any household involved in energy theft for a period of five years would go a long way to discourage the act.He commended IBEDC for engaging with the public to get their understanding of the power situation, noting that “it will help to de-escalate tension because people are seriously displeased. We will do our bit to educate our people regarding the situation.”
Meanwhile, about 40 communities in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, under the aegis of United Communities, have accused the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company of intimidation and misinformation over their demand for a constant power supply.The communities, while speaking to reporters at the palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo on Thursday, said they had earlier during a peaceful protest issued a seven-day ultimatum to the management of IBEDC to address the worsening electricity supply in their areas.
They, however, claimed that the situation had deteriorated further within the last seven days, adding that power supply to their communities had gone from bad to worse.The text of the address signed by the chairman of the group, Sulaiman Buruji, and read by Dr Nasiru Mohammed, said IBEDC had submitted a petition to the Department of State Services (DSS), Osun State Command, alleging that the peaceful protest organised by the communities was violent and that their staff members were harassed.
Contrary to the IBEDC claims, the communities said the protest was held peacefully under the watch of the Nigeria Police Force.“Today marks the expiration of that seven-day ultimatum. Sadly, instead of improvement, the situation has deteriorated further. Within the last seven days, power supply to our communities has gone from bad to worse. In many areas across the affected communities, residents have received less than nine hours of electricity in total throughout the entire seven-day period.
“Rather than address this critical issue, it has come to the attention of the leadership of the United Communities that IBEDC has chosen a different path, a path of intimidation, misinformation, and distraction.“We have reliable information that IBEDC has submitted a petition to the Department of State Services (DSS), Osun State Command, alleging that the peaceful protest organised by our communities was violent and that their staff members were harassed.“We wish to state clearly, unequivocally, and without reservation that this allegation is false. The protest organised by the United Communities was peaceful, disciplined, and lawful.
“It was properly coordinated and conducted under the watch of the Nigeria Police Force who escorted the procession throughout the exercise. At no point was there violence, harassment, or destruction of property,” the communities stated.
The communities had earlier staged a protest and handed down a seven-day ultimatum to IBEDC to return them to Band A or face consequences.
