Agbota community in Ondo wants transformer installed

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Residents of Messiah Estate on Agbota area of Oda community in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State have cried out over lack of social amenities in the area, protesting against the epileptic power suuply in the community.

The residents complained over lack of basic infrastructure like good roads and steady electricity supply, saying the people had been living without power supply for over two years.

Speaking on behalf of the people, the chairman of Landlords’ Association, Chief Adewole Akingbola, explained that they were experiencing low voltage because of the overloading on the transformer.

He said the lawmaker representing Ondo Central senatorial district of the state, Senator Ayo Akinyelure donated a transformer but said the transformer had not been fixed by the community.

According to him, about N10 million was charged by the electricity company to fix and install the transformer about three years ago, but the community was able to raise about N4 million while the amount had been jerked up recently.

Akingbola lamented that the development had affected commercial activities in the area, adding that access to water had also been affected.

He said some shop owners have relocated to Akure as many of them grieved over the losses they incurred on a daily basis due to power outages, which has become a regular occurrence in the community.

A resident, Iyabo Samuel, also complained about the effect of incessant power outage in households, saying, “We no longer refrigerate our foods and this is making me to cook more often than usual.”

She pleaded with the state government and power generation and distribution companies to come to the aid of the people by providing, restoring and installing the new transformer donated to the community.

A welder, Yakubu Ayodeji said: “The transformer covers most area of the community and we have been living in darkness for some two or three years.

“Business activities had collapsed in our community; most residents rely on electricity for water, as we do not have public water supply.

“To get water, we use electricity to pump water but that cannot be done without power. So, in the absence of this public power supply, water for domestic use is impossible.

“We spend a lot of money on fuel to power our generating sets; the situation cannot continue like this.

“We are not satisfied with the attitude of the electricity company to our plight. After providing the transformer, they are still asking us to pay for the installation. I know they are still going to bill us when electricity is installed.

“We want to appeal to the state government to look into our plight because we are ready to cooperate with the electricity company but the charges for the installation are not friendly. Or are we not going to pay for the monthly billing again?” he queried.

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