NSE harps on sustainable electricity for Oyo

•As Alli, Akintunde, Olubadan call for power reform at Arokodare lecture

By: Rukiyat Ogunwade and AbdulBasit Dosumu

THE Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Ibadan Branch, on Monday held the 32nd Engineer Lawrence Oluwawemimo Arokodare Memorial Lecture at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, with focus on sustainable electricity for Oyo State.

The lecture, themed: “Oyo State Electricity: Past, Present and Future,” was attended by  engineers, traditional rulers, academia, students and members of the Arokodare family.

In his address, president of NSE, Ali Alimasuya Rabiu, who was represented by a former president of the society, Olumuyiwa Ajibola, commended the Ibadan branch for sustaining the lecture for 32 consecutive years.

He described the event as a celebration of professional excellence and a fitting tribute to the late Engineer Lawrence Arokodare, former chairman of the branch, who exemplified competence, ethical responsibility and service to humanity.

In his welcome address, Chairman, NSE Ibadan branch , Ayokunmi Ojedele, said the lecture was instituted in 1995 in honour of the late Engineer Arokodare and has become a respected platform for discussing engineering, infrastructure and socio-economic development.

Ojedele said electricity concerns everyone — traders, artisans, students, hospitals, farmers, manufacturers and families, and should  be approached as both an engineering and development issue.

Delivering the keynote address, a former chairman of the branch, Mr  Ibraheem Folarin Bello, said improving electricity supply in Oyo required an integrated strategy covering generation, transmission, distribution, regulation and consumer protection.

He urged the Federal Government and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), in collaboration with Oyo State, to provide additional 330kV infrastructure, strengthen substations serving Ibadan, Oyo, Ogbomoso and Iseyin, and develop a South-West transmission master plan.

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He also urged the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and the Oyo State Electricity Regulatory Commission (OSERC) to replace deteriorated transformers, build additional feeders, reduce losses and publish performance data, while accelerating the 12MW Ibadan Independent Gas Power Project and solar mini-grids.

Speaking at the event, the senator representing Oyo Central, Senator Yunus Akintunde, described the electricity crisis as a policy failure from the unbundling of generation, transmission and distribution, noting that transmission lines are obsolete.

Also, the senator representing Oyo South and APC governorship candidate, Sharafadeen Alli, said his power policy, to be unveiled soon, will leverage the Electricity Act 2023 which empowers states to generate electricity.

“There has been some improvement in the last few months. People in Oyo State should be rest assured that before the end of our first tenure from 2027, there will be a great difference in the power sector,” he said.

The event was attended by the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, who was represented by the Abese Balogun of Ibadanland, Chief Taiwo Oyekan, among other dignitaries.