- By Demola Atobaba, Ado-Ekiti
Resolute to boost local economy and propel the industrial development via robust growth of Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises(SMEs) in Ekiti State, Governor Biodun Oyebanji, has charged Ekiti citizens to protect all public utilities in their domains to safeguard government infrastructure from being destroyed.
The Governor also said his government would not tolerate the idea of towns being left in perpetual power outage for a period of 15 years, describing this as a potential danger that can cripple businesses and shore up the poverty level in the state.
Oyebanji spoke on Tuesday at his country home, Ikogosi Ekiti, while commissioning the extension of the 132/133KVA power substation from Omisanjana in Ado Ekiti to reconnect the town back to the national grid after years of power outage.
The Governor said the 33KV electrification project, which
covers 19km radius and stretched from 132 KV TCN Sub-Station at Omisanjana to connect Erijiyan and Ikogosi-Ekiti needed protection to spur business activities along that axis.
“I wish to urge our people to see all public infrastructures within their communities as their property and to jealously guard and protect them from vandalisation. They must also be prepared to pay for electricity usage”, Oyebanji pleaded.
Oyebanji, who described electricity supply as an impetus and a major boost to the growth of SMEs, said this unflagging view accounted for why the government places high premium on reconnection of towns experiencing lingering power outage across the state.
He lamented that a town housing one the state’s business concern was without power supply for years, saying that connecting the town back to the national grid would boost the water bottling company as well as the tourism potentials of the area.
He said: “For us, electricity is a critical infrastructure in our Ekiti development agenda. It is indeed, the circulatory artery upon which the Ekiti industrial agenda can be kept alive. Without power any talk of industrialization remains an empty wish, it is for this reason that we made it a major priority in our Six Pillars of Administration.
“When we came on board, the power infrastructure audit of the State indicated that many communities had been without electricity for many years, ranging from 6-15 years. We also noticed that a critical factor that had bedeviled Ikogosi Warm Spring and Resorts and the Gossy Bottling Company was the absence of sustainable power supply and without connecting these facilities to the national grid, it would remain a mere pipe dream and the venture unprofitable.
“In our bid to find a lasting solution, it was observed that there was a 140MVA transformer at the 132KV TCN Sub-Station at Omisanjana, Ado Ekiti out of which only 80MVA transformer was being utilized while 60MVA transformer was underutilized due to lack of a corridor to evacuate the energy to.
“To fully utilize the 140 KV supply to the Sub-Station and to proffer a lasting solution to the electricity supply challenge in the industrial and tourism zone of Ikogosi-Ipole-Iloro, we constructed a 5KM long 33KV line from the Sub-Station at Omisanjana to Baptist High School, Ado Ekiti to link Ilawe line.
“From Ilawe, we constructed another 14kKM long of a 33KV line to Erijiyan Ekiti. In addition, we also rehabilitated an existing 33KV line from Erijiyan to Ikogosi industrial and tourism zone to energize the Ikogosi town, the resort, Gossy Water company and Ipole-Iloro line.
“With this, the 140 KV supply from the national grid which was hitherto underutilized is now fully put to profitable use. With the completion of this project, the communities targeted are already enjoying improved power supply to this zone”.
The Governor added that apart from improved standard of living to the people of the area m, the economic benefits to the people are enormous. ” I want to assure other communities in darkness that by the special grace of God, light will shine over them soon”, he added.
The Governor assured that his administration will put all hands on the plough to drive development across all the towns in the state to ward off incidence of neglect being suffered by some communities.
Describing the achievement as one of the flagships of the Oyebanji administration and very strategic to the development of the state, the Commissioner for Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Prof. Bolaji Aluko, revealed that the project will benefit all the towns and industries located along Ado-Ilawe-Ikogosi route.
Prof Aluko said Ipole Iloro would soon be reconnected to the national grid through Iwaji-Efon Alaaye axis to boost economy of the town, saying the contracts to actualise this had already been signed by the state government.
The Managing Director of Gossy Water Bottling Company, Gbemileke Otun, stated that the power reconnection project will help in solving perennial power interruption that has been hindering optimal operations of the firm.
“Our company was shut down for three years due to poor electricity supply. At a point, we were getting discouraged. But with this project, we will expand and have the spirit to explore other opportunities that abound in Ekiti State”.
The representatives of Ikogosi Warm Springs Resort Centre, a flourishing hospitality business, Mr. Lanre Balogun, described the feat as unprecedented, saying the company spends a whopping sum of N12 million monthly on power generation.
“This shows that Mr Governor is giving our company a sum of N12m monthly and you know what this can do in the life of this company. If you have leaders like Governor Oyebanji, Nigeria will be one of the best in the world . He is a man of his words and we are pleased with him”.
Speaking for the benefiting communities, the Olohan of Erinjiyan Ekiti, Oba Omoseebi Adegoroye, applauded Governor Oyebanji for placing high premium on boosting local economy, saying all the towns are indebted to the current government in terms of support in all spheres.
It is recalled that several communities erupted in wild jubilation last week during the test- running of the electricity project, ahead of Tuesday’s commissioning.
Aside towns in Ekiti West Local Government, several towns in Ayekire and Ekiti East local government areas of the state are also beneficiaries of the electricity project of the Oyebanji government.
