Residents of Iree, Boripe Local Government Area, Osun State, have asked the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) to disconnect the town if it is unable to offer a consistent power supply.
According to inhabitants, the town has been dealing with irregular electricity supplies for more than a year, and IBEDC continues to issue arbitrary projected bills.
A real estate developer, Prince Ali Afolabi, accused IBEDC of exploiting residents, saying that many who applied for prepaid meters were yet to receive them.
Afolabi said that the distribution business cheated homeowners by using black meters, which allowed for approximated billing, which frequently resulted in high rates.
He called on the state government to intervene and urged the firm to disconnect the town from its feeder to save inhabitants from “paying for darkness” if the power supply could not be improved.
He said, “The company should exit Iree and save us from continuously paying for darkness. It is terrible that we can’t even have an hour of electricity in a day. IBEDC cannot continue to rip our people off.
“Businesses are dying, and many small-scale enterprises have folded up because they cannot afford generators and fuel to keep running. This is because IBEDC has failed to live up to expectations in providing power.
“We have made several efforts to call the attention of the managers in Iree and Ikirun, but nothing has been done. We cannot continue to tolerate their arbitrariness and exploitative tendencies. We can’t keep quiet on this—it is either they improve the supply to Iree or cut us off completely.”
Another local resident, Muyiwa Aina, voiced concern with the low power supply and approximated billing.
According to Aina, only a few residents have prepaid meters, and those who applied for them have yet to receive them.
“The maximum electricity supply we usually get is two hours. We have been living in darkness for over a year. Many businesses that rely on electricity have shut down because their owners couldn’t afford the high cost of petrol to run generators. IBEDC has not been fair to us,” he said.
However, IBEDC asked for citizens’ patience, saying that the company was facing certain technical and supply issues.
Kikelomo Owoeye, Senior Communication Officer for IBEDC’s Osun Region, stated,
“As a committed and service-oriented organization, we wish to appeal to the stakeholders and esteemed customers of the Iree community to bear with us as we are currently experiencing some technical and supply challenges.
“We are working diligently to ensure that the supply we have is distributed equitably and efficiently. We also want to clarify that we purchase the energy we distribute to customers; therefore, we appeal to them to pay for the energy they consume to enable us to serve them better.”
