Residents of Ogijo in the Sagamu Local Government Area, a boundary community between Lagos and Ogun states, are currently lamenting following a one-year blackout currently being witnessed in the area.
The situation, it was learnt, has forced some residents, particularly artisans who need electricity to ply their trades to relocate from the area.
Those who have no choice but to remain in the community, it was further gathered, have been spending a fortune on fuel to power their generating sets in other to continue to carry out their commercial activities, thereby incurring huge costs.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the community had been without electricity since February 2022.
A landlord in the community who identified himself simply as Deji, told our correspondent on Thursday that the condition forced him to go and rent an apartment in another location.
He said, “No sane human being wants to stay where there is no electricity when there is an option of getting a better life somewhere else.
“For over a year, no electricity, and the price of fuel has been increasing. Generally, the community is not conducive for people to live in. I had to leave my place to rent an apartment somewhere else.”
When contacted, the Chairman of Ogo Irawo Community Development Association, Ogijo, Aliu Tiamiyu, told our correspondent that the situation had crippled many businesses with “owners opting for factory work to survive.”
“Electricity has not been supplied to the community since February last year. Some landlords have moved out of Ogijo because of the situation. The economy of the community is nothing to write home about,” he said.
Tiamiyu explained that efforts had been made by the community to have electricity restored, which included the contribution of money by landlords to the effect.
He added, “We have made a lot of efforts and we have been able to contribute money after learning from the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company of a substation at Odongunyan which we can connect to enable us to have 12 hours of electricity supply per day.
“When we asked to know what was delaying the connection, they told us that they didn’t have the resources. So, the community decided to contribute money to make sure that the project was done.
“We have done that but unfortunately, the project is being delayed by IBEDC because they did not get the approval they suppose to get at the beginning of the project.
“Last week, we were told that the approval had been given by the Transmission Company of Nigeria. The approval will enable Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company to put off power at the substation so that we can connect to the Odongunyan substation. That is the position we find ourselves in right now.”
The spokesperson for IBEDC, Busolami Tunwase, told our correspondent that the company was in talks with the IKEDC to ensure electricity is restored to the community.
“We are in talks with Ikeja as we speak. We are not taking the matter lightly. It goes beyond us right now but we have done our part and we are not relenting. There have been a couple of meetings and there are still more to go,” she said.
Asked to state when power would be restored in Ogijo, Tunwase said, “It depends on what we can resolve with Ikeja. We may not be able to give you an outright timeline or deadline. It is beyond us. We just have to find a way to work together with Ikeja.”
When contacted, the spokesperson for the IKEDC, who identified himself simply as Kingsley, said, “I can’t speak about it. Ogijo is under IBEDC.”
When asked if IKEDC was delaying IBEDC in its effort to restore electricity in the area, Kingsley said, “How can Ikeja delay Ibadan when it is Ibadan’s franchise? It is not within Ikeja’s network. How can I be speaking for what is not in my yard?
“To the best of my knowledge, based on evidence that I have not seen, that network that you are talking about, the supply issue is under Ibadan DISCO.”
