Some of the inscriptions on the banners and placards read: 'IBEDC is a scam,' 'Light Up Iwo/Lalupon,' 'We reject darkness,' 'Fourteen years, our children haven't seen electricity,' and 'We are tired of darkness,' among others.
Hundreds of residents of Iwo Road-Lalupon communities in Ibadan, on Monday, carried out a peaceful protest at a division of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) in the Monatan area of Ibadan.
They embarked on the protest to register their displeasure because their communities have been without electricity supply for the last ten years.
As early as 8:30 a.m., the protesters had mobilised themselves, displaying placards and banners bearing various inscriptions of their demands. But staff members at the IBEDC office shut their gate against the protesters.
Some of the inscriptions on the banners and placards read: 'IBEDC is a scam,' 'Light Up Iwo/Lalupon,' 'We reject darkness,' 'Fourteen years, our children haven't seen electricity,' and 'We are tired of darkness,' among others.
Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, the chairman of the Protest Committee of Iwo-Lalupon Electricity Feeder Consumers, Tajudeen Omotosho, said their communities have been in perpetual darkness for the past ten years.
He said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had awarded a contract to a specific contractor to resolve the electricity issue affecting Iwo/Lalupon feeder consumers in Iwo town in December 2023.
He claimed that IBEDC referred to the contractor as "Alagbara" and refused to mention his name. He added that the contractor ought to have arrived on site by 5 January this year, but the communities never saw the contractor.
"We want to know which Alagbara denied us our rights. There are two contracts, Oyo and Lalupon, and the letters of award were issued at the same time. The contractor for Oyo has completed his job and is about to turn on the light. We have never seen the contractor awarded the contract for our area. We want to know who collected the money," Mr Omotosho said.After registering their displeasure at the IBEDC office, the protesters, with over eight buses and cars, made their way to the Oyo State Secretariat at Agodi.
Addressing journalists on the issue, the Executive Assistant to the Governor on Security Matters, Odukoya Sunday, a retired Commissioner of Police, said it is not the governor that will provide them electricity, saying that there are representatives of government who will attend to the issue.
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Mr Odukoya, however, assured the protesters that since they have brought their demands to the notice of the government, it will take steps to ensure that electricity is restored in their communities."We are happy their protest has been very peaceful; this is the type of thing we want people to do, not to become violent in presenting matters that are bothering them.
"We have formed a committee among them now. We are now going to my office to ensure everything is normalised," Mr Odukoya added.
Some of the demonstrators shared their plight and grievances with PREMIUM TIMES.
A local technician, Oluwashina Abiọdun, stated that the joint communities' protest was to seek urgent redress after several meetings with the IBEDC regarding the restoration of the power supply.He explained that the electronic equipment he uses to work has now been damaged as a result of the lack of electricity.
"We are over 400,000 people in those communities, and we have never owed IBEDC," Mr. Abiodun added.
A fashion designer, Adeola Akinrinade, also lamented how the lack of electricity supply adversely affected her job during the festive period, saying that she has not used her electronic whipping sewing machine for years.
She appealed to the IBEDC to restore electricity to their communities and stop giving excuses.
