Residents of Oke Alaafia, Igirimo, Alaafiatayo Zone 3 and Alaafia Central Zone in Ado Ekiti have called on Governor Biodun Oyebanji’s government to rescue them from total darkness.
The four communities made the call at a press conference held on Sunday at the IGIRIMO community in Ado Ekiti.
Residents of the communities who trooped out in large numbers carried placards with inscriptions like GOV BAO SAVE US FROM TOTAL DARKNESS, WE’VE BEEN IN TOTAL DARKNESS FOR 6 MONTHS, OUR BUSINESSES AND SOCIAL LIVES HAVE BEEN TERRIBLY AFFECTED, YOU ARE A LISTENING GOV…
Speaking on behalf of the four communities, the chairmen of Oke Alaafia and Igirimo Communities, Mr OluKayode Jegede and Mr Adebola Ayegbusi, solicited the intervention of the Ekiti state governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, to provide the communities with a new transformer. The duo explained that the four communities of about nine thousand residents have been in total darkness since October 2024, when their transformer suddenly packed off, saying all efforts to repair it had proved abortive.
While calling on the state governor, whom the duo referred to as lovers of the masses and a listening governor, to put an end to their sufferings by providing them with a new transformer, they commended the governor for connecting several towns that have been in total blackout for decades to the national grid, adding that the governor had supplied transformers to several communities.
The duo were optimistic that Governor Oyebanji would wipe away their tears and light up their communities as soon as their cries reached him. They also called on the Senate leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, whose office is closer to the community, to help them out of their predicament.
According to Mr. OluKayode Jegede, a renowned journalist, the four communities have been using communal efforts to put in place infrastructures; when our transformer packed off, we were in total darkness. We tried all means to get the transformer working, but the financial burden was too heavy for the communities to bear. That’s why we are appealing to Governor Oyebanji, the people-oriented governor, to aid us. We cannot carry the load again. We know the load of Ekiti State is too much for him, but he cannot overlook the population of these communities. He should free us from this darkness; we are not blind but in darkness.”
He added that lack of electricity in the four communities had crippled the economy; social activities and lives have become unbearable for the residents, which had alienated the people from the progressive government of Oyebanji.
Speaking further, an appointee of the state governor, Mr Ade Adetola, assured the gathering that though the governor may not be aware of the problem, being a compassionate governor and the Senate leader, Senator Opeyemi Michael Bamidele, who always prioritized the welfare of the masses, he would do something about the transformer.
Also, Mr Tanimowo Temitope, the secretary of Alaafiatayo Zone 3, and others applauded Governor Oyebanji for his people-oriented programmes, which had turned Ekiti State around. They were optimistic that their day of jubilation had come.
Recounting their losses, Mrs Adeyemi Aderibigbe, who runs a restaurant, and Mrs Odudele, a chemist, said the lack of electricity has crumbled their businesses. They find it difficult to make ends meet due to a lack of patronage, adding that they could not repay the loan they collected for their businesses. They called on the government to provide them with a new transformer.
While reiterating their unflinching support for the governor’s second-term ambition, they said, “We are in support of Governor Oyebanji, and we shall continue to support him.”
The faulty transformer has been repaired several times. Former governor Segun Oni donated it in 2011, tagging it “IMOLE TI TAN 2011.” Before it finally packed off around September last year, the 300KVA transformer had been on and off for years.
