Residents of Ireakari community in Ilisan Remo, Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State, on Saturday protested the alleged refusal of officials of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company to connect their transformer to the national grid after spending over N11m on its installation.

The protesters wielded placards with inscriptions such as “Ireakari community is tired of pitch darkness,” “IBEDC, connect light to our transformer,” “Gov Dapo Abiodun, call IBEDC to order,” and “IBEDC, give us light, not crazy bills.”

They lamented that erratic power supply and frequent blackouts had paralysed business activities in the area and worsened insecurity, leading to incidents of armed robbery and other crimes.

Speaking during the protest, the Secretary of the Ireakari Community Development Association, Mr. Taiwo Idowu, said, “In the process of solving the poor power supply challenge in our community, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu donated a transformer to us in 2018.

“We invited officials of IBEDC to inspect it. They checked and certified it fit for use, so we began raising funds among ourselves for the installation.

“We bought poles, cables, and every other item required. We have spent over N11m, and when the installation was completed in June, we contacted IBEDC to connect the transformer to the grid.

“However, to our shock, they said the transformer was refurbished. We couldn’t understand because they had earlier inspected and approved it for installation.

“How can they now claim it’s refurbished and refuse to connect it? We’ve written several letters to their offices in Sagamu and Ibadan, but nothing has been done.

“Our community has suffered erratic power supply for over eight years. After using our hard-earned money to solve the problem, IBEDC has again become a stumbling block. Our losses over the years are unquantifiable.

“We are appealing to Governor Dapo Abiodun and the Chairman of Ikenne Local Government, Hon. Jamiu Ashimi, to come to our aid. This suffering is too much. The government can either provide us another transformer or prevail on IBEDC to connect the one we have.”

The head of the community, Chief Adeyemo Sofola, also lamented the long absence of electricity in the area, saying it had crippled residents’ livelihoods and hampered the socio-economic growth of the community.

Sofola appealed to Abiodun and Ashimi to either provide a new transformer or intervene to ensure that IBEDC connects the existing one.

Similarly, a resident, Mrs. Janet Oluwatoyin, decried the attitude of IBEDC officials, calling for urgent government intervention.

She said, “The truth is that the residents of this community, numbering over 3,000, are not happy. The suffering is too much.

“Our businesses have suffered, yet we contributed over N11m to install the transformer. Now IBEDC is giving excuses. We are angry and calling on our father in the state, Governor Abiodun, to help us. We can’t remain in darkness forever.”

The Chief Imam of Ilisan Remo, Alhaji Aderemi, who also resides in the community, appealed to both the governor and the council chairman—who is an indigene of the community—to help restore stable electricity, noting that many businesses had collapsed due to the power challenge.

The Chairman of Ilisan Development Association, Otunba Wemmy Osude, who addressed the protesters, faulted IBEDC’s handling of the situation, describing it as insensitive to the plight of the residents.

He said, “I charge IBEDC to act swiftly to meet the community’s demand. I also urge the government of Prince Dapo Abiodun and the Ikenne Local Government under Hon. Jamiu Ashimi to come to the rescue’of these people and wipe away their tears.

“There can be no growth or socio-economic development where people live in darkness even after spending over N11m of their hard-earned money on a transformer.”

However, the Public Relations Officer of IBEDC, Ogun Region, Mr. Yomi Bada, refuted the community’s claims, saying the company was not contacted until the transformer had already been installed.

He said, “From my findings, the community never contacted IBEDC when the transformer was donated. It was after the contractor completed the installation and was about to energise it that they reached out to us.

“When our technical crew inspected it, they discovered it was a refurbished transformer, not the type used in our network. Such a transformer cannot be certified because it is substandard.”

Bada added that he would contact the regional head of the distribution company to explore possible ways to assist the community. (Saturday PUNCH)