Residents and business owners in Offa, Kwara State, have called for urgent intervention to address what they describe as decades of deteriorating electricity supply that has crippled economic and social life in the area.
In a statement signed by the president and secretary of the Ibolo Consumers Advocacy of Nigeria (ICAN), Engineer Tajudeen Iwalola and Shehu Olanrewaju, the group said consumers under the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) Offa Business Hub have endured persistent outages, unstable supply, and alleged estimated billing without any corresponding infrastructural upgrade.
The group noted that despite several meetings held with IBEDC at both the business hub and regional office levels, no meaningful improvements had been achieved.
“The people of Offa continue to suffer economic stagnation and houses have been burnt as a result of frequent feeder instability that always leads to power surges. Federal, state, and NGO projects are also being frustrated by unreliable electricity supply,” the statement read.
According to ICAN, over 75 percent of electricity consumers in Offa receive only two to three hours of supply daily, while some households remain completely without power but are still charged.
The group reported that in 2024 alone, more than 25 transformers were vandalized due to poor supply, forcing residents to spend over ₦55 million from personal funds to repair or replace them. Despite these expenditures, ICAN alleged that IBEDC has not provided new infrastructure since it took over 12 years ago.
Consumers were also said to be purchasing essential materials such as poles, transformer oil, feeder pillar units, and lightning arrestors, which ordinarily should be the responsibility of the distribution company.
ICAN further highlighted the continued use of two 7.5MVA transformers installed in 1963 during the administration of the late Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello. The statement said these obsolete transformers still serve more than 75 percent of Offa and its environs. In addition, 22,500 meters of 35mm aluminium conductor wires, considered undersized, are reportedly in use to carry load across more than 150 transformers.
“These undersized conductors have repeatedly snapped, causing blackouts and even claiming lives in the past. In 2024 and 2025 alone, 28 incidents of conductor snaps were recorded along Olofa Way and Popo Road, posing grave danger to lives and property,” the group stated.
Two communities—Ramola in Oyun Local Government Area and Liberation in Offa Local Government Area—have been in total darkness for more than a year due to vandalized transformers.
The residents demanded an immediate overhaul of all feeders in Offa to guarantee a minimum of 12 hours daily supply, replacement of the obsolete 7.5MVA transformers with modern high-capacity units, and urgent substitution of the undersized conductors that they described as hazardous.
“We call on the Federal Government, the Kwara State Government, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), civil society organizations, and all well-meaning Nigerians to intervene immediately before Offa is pushed deeper into darkness and more lives are endangered, while small and medium-scale businesses continue relocating to other towns,” the statement added.
