More than 6 weeks of power outage crumbles businesses and people in Osun communities
Business owners and residents have been plunged into a blackout following the power transformer that broke down more than six weeks ago in Anaye and Oke-Abuja communities in Iragbiji, Osun State.
The continuing situation is said to have impacted the life and smooth running of business activities in the two communities where Anaye Market is located – one of the trading centers serving the town of Iragbiji and its neighboring communities.
Adebayo Akeem, whose business manufactures cooking oil in the region, said the processor not only prevented him from doing business, but also affected his relationship with the banking institutions he worked with. works.
He said that the situation has become difficult for his business as he can only make a profit by depending on electricity from the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), adding that he is costly for his business to run on diesel at the moment.< /p>
"It's been over two months now. We went to meet NEPA (now IBEDC) but they said they have no authority to fix it or restore power unless we can pay for the repairs ourselves,” he said.
Continuing, he said power company officials contacted an engineer for them who demanded a sum of N1million for the repair, adding that their inability to collect the money is making the time difficult for many people and businesses in the communities.
Just like Adebayo, another shop owner, Adeyemi Saheed, told our correspondent that the only option left to them was to beg for a new transformer, adding that the faulty one has been gobbling up money from both communities since 2018.< /p>
Adeyemi, while talking about the effect of the current power outage on his business, said he was one of many shop owners who had just come from work, to avoid the closure, but that 'he had no stock in the trade due to lack of electricity.< /p>
Mrs. Funke Ejalonibu was among the most affected by the situation. Its computer center and chilled water business were also affected. Speaking to Tribune Online, she explained how the situation caused her to lose her long-time clients.
"The time it got faulty was when we were printing exam questions for private schools. But since we had to switch to the generator for printing and you know the price of fuel now, immediately we tell them the price per copy, they leave,” she lamented.
"We fixed it several times. It got old," says the community manager
Baale Kola Alao, the community leader of Anaye community, who spoke of the concerted efforts to restore electricity to both communities, also corroborated how the "aged" electrical transformer is swallowing up the community money for a long time.< /p>
He said a lot of money had been spent on fixing it several times in the past, noting that the community had spent over 400,000 naira less than a year ago when it was last repaired.
“The money we spent last time was over 400,000 naira. They (IBEDC) took it to Offa for repair and brought it back after two weeks.
“It has never been the same since. We fixed it again after that. Our prayer is to see someone who will buy another one for us,” he said.< /p>
According to him, the power outage in the community has forced many people who are largely dependent on electricity to shut down, however adding that the situation may persist for a long time as the two communities are still struggling to gather the necessary amount of money for the repair.
He added, "Since we go around, we haven't collected up to 300,000 naira. When are we going to collect N1 million? They said until we collect it. But what do we know? There is no NEPA among us."
The community would only have peace of mind on the electricity issue until they saw someone who would volunteer to help them with a brand new transformer, he said continued.
An IBEDC official who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity said a complaint letter had been sent to their head office in Ibadan.
When asked why the company was not responsible for the repair, she replied that the communities had been asked to wait for the IBEDC, but they volunteered to look for money for repair to quickly restore power to the area.
Business owners and residents have been plunged into a blackout following the power transformer that broke down more than six weeks ago in Anaye and Oke-Abuja communities in Iragbiji, Osun State.
The continuing situation is said to have impacted the life and smooth running of business activities in the two communities where Anaye Market is located – one of the trading centers serving the town of Iragbiji and its neighboring communities.
Adebayo Akeem, whose business manufactures cooking oil in the region, said the processor not only prevented him from doing business, but also affected his relationship with the banking institutions he worked with. works.
He said that the situation has become difficult for his business as he can only make a profit by depending on electricity from the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), adding that he is costly for his business to run on diesel at the moment.< /p>
"It's been over two months now. We went to meet NEPA (now IBEDC) but they said they have no authority to fix it or restore power unless we can pay for the repairs ourselves,” he said.
Continuing, he said power company officials contacted an engineer for them who demanded a sum of N1million for the repair, adding that their inability to collect the money is making the time difficult for many people and businesses in the communities.
Just like Adebayo, another shop owner, Adeyemi Saheed, told our correspondent that the only option left to them was to beg for a new transformer, adding that the faulty one has been gobbling up money from both communities since 2018.< /p>
Adeyemi, while talking about the effect of the current power outage on his business, said he was one of many shop owners who had just come from work, to avoid the closure, but that 'he had no stock in the trade due to lack of electricity.< /p>
Mrs. Funke Ejalonibu was among the most affected by the situation. Its computer center and chilled water business were also affected. Speaking to Tribune Online, she explained how the situation caused her to lose her long-time clients.
"The time it got faulty was when we were printing exam questions for private schools. But since we had to switch to the generator for printing and you know the price of fuel now, immediately we tell them the price per copy, they leave,” she lamented.
"We fixed it several times. It got old," says the community manager
Baale Kola Alao, the community leader of Anaye community, who spoke of the concerted efforts to restore electricity to both communities, also corroborated how the "aged" electrical transformer is swallowing up the community money for a long time.< /p>
He said a lot of money had been spent on fixing it several times in the past, noting that the community had spent over 400,000 naira less than a year ago when it was last repaired.
“The money we spent last time was over 400,000 naira. They (IBEDC) took it to Offa for repair and brought it back after two weeks.
“It has never been the same since. We fixed it again after that. Our prayer is to see someone who will buy another one for us,” he said.< /p>
According to him, the power outage in the community has forced many people who are largely dependent on electricity to shut down, however adding that the situation may persist for a long time as the two communities are still struggling to gather the necessary amount of money for the repair.
He added, "Since we go around, we haven't collected up to 300,000 naira. When are we going to collect N1 million? They said until we collect it. But what do we know? There is no NEPA among us."
The community would only have peace of mind on the electricity issue until they saw someone who would volunteer to help them with a brand new transformer, he said continued.
An IBEDC official who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity said a complaint letter had been sent to their head office in Ibadan.
When asked why the company was not responsible for the repair, she replied that the communities had been asked to wait for the IBEDC, but they volunteered to look for money for repair to quickly restore power to the area.
What's Your Reaction?
