Mimiko Must Fulfill All Promises, Provide Electricity
THE people of Ondo State enjoined Governor Olusegun Mimiko to deliver on promises he made to them, especially in the power sector. Five of the six local governments in the South Senatorial District have been without electricity for months!

According to Ayeye Yusuf (Okitipupa LGA), the last time the area had electricity was December 2014, a situation he said has brought untold hardship to residents whose business activities, largely dependent on electricity, have been crippled.

Highlighting the breakdown of BEDC (Benin Electricity Distribution Company) infrastructure in Okitipupa, Ilaje, Ese-Odo, Odigbo and Irele LGAs, Joseph Monehin held the wire of a low-lying electricity pole.
“Have you ever handled a naked cable on an electricity pole? I did so yesterday and lived to tell the story. The cables have not carried electric current in 13 months. That is the sad story of Okitipupa. The poles are fallen everywhere; the citizens are helpless. Who will save Okitipupa?”

Monehin decried the lukewarm attitude of the government to the plight of the residents, saying: “I am aware of several efforts by well meaning people in the area to solve the situation. There have been protests and representations to various authorities but these have not yielded much.
“My immediate suggestion is this: all Ikales, Ilajes, Apois, Arogbo Ijaws and others who want development for us, as a people, should invade the Facebook Walls of our representatives and post about the electricity situation until we have a solution? This is a simple task we can undertake even from the comfort of our homes.”

Even in Akure, the Ondo State capital, people celebrated Christmas and the New Year in darkness. No thanks to a burnt BEDC switch in Akure substation.

Have you ever handled a naked cable on an electricity pole? I did so yesterday and lived to tell the story. The cables have not carried electric current in 13 months. That is the sad story of Okitipupa. The poles are fallen everywhere; the citizens are helpless. Who will save Okitipupa?

Olusoga Laura, who resides in the Oshinle area of the city, expressed displeasure over the blackout, saying there is doubt the problem would be resolved soon. An entrepreneur, Olusoga said the outage caused her loss of huge profits during the festive period.

A staff of BEDC in Akure, who described himself as Ebenezer, admitted in a telephone conversation that the company has some challenges. He, however, declined further comments, saying he lacked authorisation. BEDC Public Relations Officer, Ilori Kayode, picked his call, excused himself for a minute, and thereafter ignored subsequent calls.

Since the inception of the Mimiko administration on February 24, 2009, people of the coastal areas have called for the completion of the Irele/Okitipupa road; contract of which was awarded by his predecessor, late Dr. Olusegun Agagu.

Agagu flagged off the Irele/Okitipupa/Araromi-Ayeka road in 2008 at the cost of N4.2bn. It was to link the Irele/Okitipupa uplands and the riverine swamps of Ilaje/Ese-Odo LGAs, opening up the areas for economic and agricultural opportunities.

Mimiko, during the swearing-in ceremony for four new commissioners in Akure, last month, promised to complete the project, among others, like the long abandoned Oba-Ile dual carriage and the Ondo township dual carriage, both nearing completion.

Also, the riverine people of Ilaje LGA (particularly
Ayetoro community, founded since January 12, 1947), have appealed to the state and federal governments to save them from recurrent sea incursion, which has ‘eaten up’ more than three kilometres of their territory, even as a section of Happy City College is completely submerged.

Affected coastline communities include Igbokoda, Ori-Oke Iwamimo, Odo Seja, Oke Seja, Ogogoro, Lepe, Olotu, Idiogba, Gbabijo, Erunona and Magbenwa, Yaye, and Ayetoro, which was hit twice last year.
The state government, nevertheless, has been providing palliatives. The Federal government, on its part, has twice re-awarded a N6.5bn embankment project, mired in alleged corruption.

Aralu Emmanuel, an indigene of Ayetoro community told The Guardian that the community has never seen the contractors on site. And that the few visible staff merely “fill the sea with weak trampoline and impregnate women.”
They people urged President Muhammadu Buhari to deliver on his government’s change mantra and called on Mimiko to fulfill his campaign promises, some threatening to vote a different party in the coming governorship election.