Border communities in Cross River appeal for electricity supply

Residents of some communities in Cross River bordering Cameroon, have appealed to the State Government to restore electricity to the areas to improve their lives and economic activities.

The people made the appeal in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Nfum, Etung Local Government Area of the state on Sunday.

Mr Augustine Agbor-Attah, the Clan Head of Nfum, told NAN that the community had not had electricity supply for the past three years.

Agbor-Attah expressed concern that the situation had adversely affected the peoples’ lives, adding that the community also lacked other social amenities and infrastructure.

He said that the people needed potable water, hospital and schools, due to the strategic position the community occupied.“In terms of infrastructure, we are lacking a lot. We don’t have water, electricity, good schools and hospitals.

“This is an international border town; we are supposed to have all the basic amenities, including hotels, but we are grossly lacking all these amenities.

“The officers manning the border post do not even have good accommodation to live in. The roads in this community need to be expanded because of the terrain,’’ he said.

Mr Emmanuel Ndum, the Youth Leader of Ajassor, a neighboring community, also told NAN that businesses had not thrived in the community due to lack of electricity.

Ndum said that since high tension cables were connected in Ajassor in 2014, nothing else had been done to provide electricity to the people.

“The people have been complaining about the non supply of power in this area. They want government to complete the project soonest to give them a sense of belonging.

“We have been using generators, day-in and day-out, and this is not healthy for the environment. Moreover, a litre of petrol here is N160, ’’ he said.

Another resident of Ajassor, Mrs Veronica Ntui, said the community needed warehouses for storage of goods to promote businesses in the border community.

“We also need warehouses in this town to store goods. This is a border community from where goods go out and come into the country daily,’’ she said.

A business woman in the area, Ms Patience Okoronkwo, told the agency that running a business in the border community without electricity was very expensive.

Okoronkwo said she recorded low profit from her sales because a good percentage of the profit went into buying of fuel to keep her generator running.

“It is very difficult to sell drinks without power supply, especially now that the weather is hot and every customer wants a cool drink.

“I am appealing to the state government to look into our plight and give us electricity because we paid our bills regularly before this indefinite blackout,’’ she pleaded.