The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company has promised to restore power supply following a three-week blackout experienced by landlords, residents and business owners in Ibafo, Magboro, Makogi, Oke-Afa and Aseese, among others, in the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.
It, however, failed to give a timeline for the restoration of power in the affected communities.
In a response to PUNCH Metro enquiries on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the power firm, Busolami Tunwase, said its technical teams were on top of the situation, adding that power would be restored as soon as work had been completed.
“Our technical team is working to restore power soon,” she said.
In a statement earlier released, the IBEDC had blamed the incident on a technical fault on the Ibafo 33KVA feeder.
It listed other affected areas as Magada and Ago Igbala.
Residents of the affected communities had cried out over the three-week blackout prevailing in their communities.
While narrating his experience, a landlord in Magboro, who did not want his name in print, told PUNCH Metro that “the situation started before the presidential election of February 25 and persists.”
A housewife, simply identified as Iya Bola, said the situation was unbearable due to the hot weather currently being experienced.
“My rechargeable fan used to enable me to sleep well at night when it was not our community’s turn to have electricity because the power supply to us gets rationed.
“Sadly, with the total blackout, I have been unable to recharge the fan and it has been difficult sleeping at night because of the heat,” she said.
A frozen food trader at a market in Oke-Afa, Yemisi Ajiboye, lamented the amount she had been spending on fuel to power her generator to keep her business floating.
“I cannot remember the amount I have spent on petrol since this total blackout started. I always have to rush down to the market early to power the generator so that the frozen food in my refrigerator will not spoil,” she said.
Another trader, Babatunde Azeez, lamented that no one seemed to be bothered enough to speak out against the continued power outage.
Perhaps, it’s because of the general election; they seem distracted. Maybe the situation will change now that the elections are over,” he said.