The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company has restored power supply to communities in the Ogijo area of the Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State, following a PUNCH Metro report highlighting how an 11-month blackout turned residents into vigilantes.
Residents of the communities, including Freedom Estate, Seidu Central, Seidu Estate, Blessed Estate, Ifesowapo, and Agbajowa, confirmed the development to our correspondent in separate interviews on Monday.
According to them, after the first report, the IBEDC officials visited the communities, assessed the faulty transformer, and carried out repairs.
The residents noted that power was restored on Saturday after the repairs were completed.
Speaking with our correspondent, the Chairman of Freedom Community Development Association, Joseph Olusoji, said the restoration of power had brought relief to the community.
He noted that the IBEDC officials had also promised to fix the crowdfunded transformer provided by the communities.
“We appreciate the management of PUNCH Nigeria Limited for its efforts in ensuring that electricity was restored to our communities.
“Out of the two transformers, one has been fixed and is now supplying electricity to our communities. The IBEDC official who visited us has taken note of what is needed to fix the second transformer, and we believe the company will assist us in repairing it.”
Another resident, Alaje Ajeyemi, also confirmed the development in an interview with our correspondent, noting that the electricity supply had brought relief to the communities.
He acknowledged that IBEDC had assured residents that it would fix the second transformer to prevent overloading the repaired transformer and future breakdowns.
“We want to appreciate the management of PUNCH and IBEDC for their efforts in ensuring that electricity was restored to our communities. This has brought relief to us after 11 months of blackout.
“We have two transformers, and we hope IBEDC will fix the second one so that the one that was repaired will not become faulty again,” Ajeyemi said.
Also, another resident, Akeem Akintayo, corroborated what his neighbours had said, while pleading for the second transformer to be fixed.
“We want to thank IBEDC for its efforts in restoring electricity to our communities. We appreciate what the company has done and hope that the second transformer will also be fixed soon.”
Recall that PUNCH Metro reported that the residents resorted to conducting night patrols to protect their neighbourhoods after a faulty transformer left the areas in darkness.
They had told our correspondent that the issue began after their transformer became faulty and remained unrepaired for several months, prompting them to contribute money among themselves to purchase a new transformer.
They had also noted that the prolonged blackout affected businesses that rely on electricity in the communities.
The IBEDC Coordinating Head, Corporate Services, Angela Olanrewaju, had assured the residents that the issue would be resolved when contacted for a reaction at the time.
She had also apologised to the communities over the prolonged outage, while noting that a technical team had been deployed to the communities.
“IBEDC wishes to apologise for the power outage currently affecting customers in Freedom Estate, Seidu Central, Seidu Estate, Blessed Estate, Ifesowapo, and Agbajowa communities.
“The affected communities are served by the same distribution transformer, which developed a fault. Upon confirmation of the fault, our technical team promptly documented the incident and initiated the formal replacement process.
“To fast-track the process, the communities have supported tremendously, and we commend them. Our technical team has completed the required assessment and identified the materials needed for the installation. We assure our esteemed customers that installation will soon commence,” Angela had said.
