By: Ike Philip Abiagom
[dropcap]R[/dropcap]esidents of Ezenei community in Asaba in the Oshiimili South Local Government Area, in Delta State Capital tertiary, are currently lamenting following a seven months blackout currently being witnessed in the area. The situation, it was learnt, has forced some residents, particularly artisans who need electricity to ply their trades to relocate from the area.
Those who have no choice but to remain in the community, it was further gathered, have been spending a fortune on fuel to power their generating sets in other to continue to carry out their commercial activities, thereby incurring huge costs.
Grassroots Publishers online gathered that the community had been without electricity since April 2023.
A landlord in the community who identified himself simply as Okey, told our correspondent on Thursday that the condition forced him to go and rent an apartment in another location.
He said, “No sane human being wants to stay where there is no electricity when there is an option of getting a better life somewhere else.
“For over seven months, no electricity, and the price of fuel has been increasing. Generally, the community is not conducive for people to live in. I had to leave my place to rent an apartment somewhere else.”
When contacted, the Acting Chairman of Ezenei Community Development Association, BEDC Electricity Plc, COLBOL 1 transformer, told our correspondent that the situation had crippled many businesses with “owners opting for factory work to survive.”
“Electricity has not been supplied to the community since April this year. Some landlords and tenants have moved out of Ezenei because of the situation. The economy of the community is nothing to write home about,” he said.
He added, “We have made a lot of efforts to repair our old COLBOL 1 transformer since BEDC has abandoned the entire EZENEI Community for Seven months without any solution .
“When we asked BEDC Electricity Plc to know what was delaying the connection, they told us that they didn’t have the resources. So, the community decided to contribute money to make sure that the project was done.
“We have done that but unfortunately, the project is being delayed by because BEDC is frustrating all our effects. In a protest letter addressed to the Regional Manager of the BEDC Electricity Plc, Asaba, the residents of COLBOL 1 transformer complained that the power outage had heightened insecurity in the EZENEI Community and, several efforts to ensure the electricity company addressed their plight have been without luck.
The letter, signed by the chairman , on behalf of EZENEI Community, stated that the residents have no other choice than to stage a mass protest soon to express their grievances at the BEDC Electricity Plc in Asaba, Government house and Delta State House of Assembly.
The letter reads: “After exploiting all avenues of amity to bring sanity to our relationship by reinstalling electricity supply to our communities with no success in view, we have no choice but to organise a procession spanning protests to let the world know of the parlous state of electricity supply to our towns.”
He described as “unacceptable, the total blackout that EZENEI Community residents are currently experiencing and the attendant negative impact on businesses and social activities in the community.”
The gross inefficiency of EZENEI BEDC Electricity Plc management is very glaring in Delta State and I am glad that the state governor has spoken the minds of all Delta people concerning how they feel about the electricity distribution company.”
He urged BEDC to review its business model and harken to the voice of the people before the company is thrown out of the state as its growing unpopularity can earn it a major public relations disaster.
The Ezenei BEDC office cannot continue to grandstand when clearly, they are grossly inefficient and incompetent. Ezenei BEDC office is the most unpopular and unwanted office in EZENEI Community today. Ask the market women, small and medium scale business owners about the Ezenei BEDC office, they all have very harsh things to say about them for keeping them perpetually in darkness.”
He added that Ezenei people are very hospitable and accommodating, but warned the management of BEDC “not to take the people’s hospitality for granted.”
He advised BEDC not to wait for its current unpopularity to degenerate into a crisis before resorting to a reactive public relations strategy, instead, the agency should be proactive and restore the Ezenei Colbol 1 Transformer without further delay.