The people of Ondo State got a piece of good news yesterday when the management of Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) promised to restore power to the six communities that have been in total darkness for years.
The affected communities are in the four local government areas in Akoko land, Ondo State.
The news came after the state governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), explained the pains and losses the people of the state have been suffering as a result of lack of power supply in the communities.
Governor Akeredolu, who recalled that many communities in the Southern and Northern senatorial districts of the state had been in darkness during his recent meeting with the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, told the BEDC management the company would make more money if it restored power to communities that had been disconnected.
The governor’s lamentation of the plight of the people over the power situation in the state prompted a positive response from the BEDC management.
The BEDC management, led by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Funke Osibodu, promised to do the needful and restore power to the affected communities.
She said though the power supply from the national grid was not enough, all the communities that were disconnected because of the perceived attacks against the company’s workers would be reconnected.
The BEDC boss, however, decried recurring vandalism of the company’s properties by vandals.
She called on the state government and other relevant stakeholders to join in the fight against vandalism of the company’s and other public utilities by vandals.
According to her, BEDC has taken some steps like fencing its transformers to prevent destruction by vandals.
Meanwhile, Akeredolu, who had initially told the BEDC management that more than half of the state had been in total darkness for years, urged the power company to be fair to its consumers and try to replace aging facilities.
