A group of youths in Ondo State has called on the state government to find a solution to the persistent problem of electricity facing the riverine Ilaje communities in the state.
It was gathered that hundreds of communities in five local government areas of the Ondo South Senatorial District have been in a total blackout for over five years due to their alleged indebtedness to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company.
The group, under the auspices of the Ilaje Advancement Forum, in a statement condemned the efforts by the state government through the Ondo State Oil- Producing Areas Development Commission to use generators to power the streetlights in their communities instead of the real public electricity.
In the statement issued by the Publicity Secretary of the group, Mr. Oluwajuwon Daudu, in Akure, the state capital on Wednesday, the group demanded that the government should provide electricity in the homes of the residents of the affected communities through the national grid.
It was learnt that the OSOPADEC, has commenced powering the streetlights in some communities in the Ilaje Local government Area with diesel generator as a palliative measure to solving the problem of consistent power outage in the area but the IAF condemned the gesture, saying the exercise would only amount to a “waste of time and resources.”
The statement read in part, “The recent attempt to hoodwink the good people of Ilaje Local Government by lighting up the street leading to Igbokoda with diesel generator is a waste of time and resources.
“It is a disgrace that we have interventionist agencies which are supposed to be catering for our needs, but prefer to embark on ghost projects and stomach infrastructure projects.
Source: Punch.ng
