Barely 72hours into the test running the 23 megawatts Calabar power plant, the supply of electricity from the plant has witnessed setback, following an inferno at the popular Marian market.

Residents of the area, have meanwhile, accused the state government of not being truthful about the true capacity of the plant claiming that it was not optimal as the governor had claimed.

It will be recalled that during the inception of the test running, Governor Ben Ayade said the plant will supply the metropolis and public utilities with power, adding that private business owners will also benefit from the supply including stylists, saloons and more.

In a statement, yesterday, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ayade, Mr. Christian Ita said the cut in supply of power from the plant was caused by an inferno at the Marian market.

He said, “The Cross River State Government wishes to inform the general public that the cut in power supply from the 23 megawatts Calabar Power plant in the last 24 hours to the Calabar metropolis is due to a fire outbreak at the Marian market which affected some transmission cables.

“The power plant had to be shut down to minimise damage caused by the inferno. A team of engineers is currently working round the clock to fix the problem. Power will be restored as soon as this is done. Government regrets the inconveniences this has caused residents of the metropolis,” it stated.

Meanwhile, resident have raised concern over the reasons stated by government, adding that there was no correlation between the power plant and the high tension cable that fell leading to a fire at Marian market.

A trader, Mr Asuquo Edit said the excuse by the state government that the fire incident had anything to do with the power cut was a blatant lie and propaganda.

He said: “We thought this one was different and will probably be one of his projects that Cross Riverians will benefit from, but it is obviously one of those unrealistic projects.

“How on earth can a power plant that was just powered for test running to check how effective it will be just go off only in three days and you are telling the public that it was caused by a fire incident a Marian.

“Their statement does not add up, it is pure propaganda, they should allow us remain on the national grid Controlled by PHED instead of plunging Calabar Metroplois into darkness,” he stated. (Vanguard)

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