- Ora Community experiences relief as electricity is restored after two years of blackout.
- Hon. Ogunkelu’s intervention, including two transformer donations, played a pivotal role in ending the power outage.
- Residents express gratitude but question why they had to bear the financial burden for energizing the government-provided transformer.
For over two years, residents of Ora Community in Eredo LCDA Epe, particularly in Phase I & II, lived in complete darkness, grappling with the challenges that come with a prolonged power outage.
Ekohotblog reports that businesses collapsed, students struggled to study, and healthcare services were severely disrupted. Today, however, hope has been restored as electricity has finally returned to the community.
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Ora Community’s electricity problem started when their transformer initially required maintenance. In a bid to solve the issue, residents contributed funds for repairs, but unfortunately, the transformer broke down completely.
Determined to bring back power, the community members raised additional money to acquire a new transformer. However, their struggles were far from over.
Despite obtaining a new transformer through the intervention of a concerned resident who secured it from the Lagos State Government, another hurdle emerged—the energization process required an exorbitant fee.
The Community Development Association (CDA) sought the services of a contractor, who initially charged 2 million Naira. After several negotiations, the cost was reduced to 1.1 million Naira, but even this amount remained a significant financial burden on the residents.
Many households struggled to contribute due to the economic hardship affecting the country. The prolonged darkness continued to cripple economic activities, deepen social issues, and make life unbearable for the people.
The turning point in this prolonged crisis came when Hon. Ogunkelu Sylvester Oluwadahunsi, the Lagos State House of Assembly representative for Epe Constituency II, intervened.
Understanding the gravity of the situation, he tirelessly engaged stakeholders and facilitated the final steps required to energize the transformer.
His relentless efforts ultimately led to the long-awaited restoration of electricity in the community.
Notably, Hon. Ogunkelu had previously donated a transformer to the community before this recent intervention, demonstrating his continuous commitment to improving infrastructure and residents’ well-being.
As electricity returned, residents expressed immense joy and relief, knowing that their days of suffering were finally over.
Small businesses that had shut down due to the blackout are expected to reopen, students can now study comfortably, and health facilities can function optimally again.
Mr. Adewale Olufemi, a local business owner, described the restoration as life-changing:
“We have endured so much hardship in the past two years. My business was almost ruined because we had to depend on generators, which was too costly.
Now, with stable electricity, I can fully resume operations. We are deeply grateful to Hon. Ogunkelu for his intervention.”
Similarly, Mrs. Folashade Ajayi, a mother of three, highlighted the effect on education:
“Our children can now do their homework without stress. It was difficult for them to study at night, and even their online classes were affected. This is a huge relief for us.”
Despite the joy that now fills Ora Community, residents are questioning why they had to bear the burden of funding the energization of a government-provided transformer.
Many believe that the Ikeja Distribution Company (IKDC) should have taken full responsibility for the process.
Community leaders have called for a thorough review of electricity distribution policies to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
They are urging the Lagos State Government and relevant agencies to implement measures ensuring that communities are not left in prolonged darkness due to bureaucratic bottlenecks or financial constraints.
Meanwhile, speaking with some staff of IKEDC, it was discovered that some residents had illegally connected their homes from other streets, which put an additional load on the transformer, affecting its functionality.
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As a result, the IKEDC team had to go around the community, identify, and disconnect those involved in the illegal connections before finally restoring power.
While electricity has now been restored, the fight for reliable power supply is far from over. Residents are hopeful that the authorities will work towards maintaining a stable electricity supply and addressing infrastructure issues that may arise in the future.
