Traffic was paralysed for hours yesterday on the Ado-Ikare Federal Highway, as Ijan-Ekiti youths in Gbonyin Local Government blocked the road to protest nine-month power outage.
They demanded the restoration of power by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).
The youths marched to the palace of the Onijan, Oba Oyewole Fadahunsi and urged him to make representations to the BEDC authorities, saying they could no longer bear the blackout, which had paralysed social and economic activities.
The protesters, who carried placards, said the outage gave robbers and other criminals the opportunity to perpetrate evils.
They gave BEDC a seven-day ultimatum to restore electricity or they might be forced to take legal actions.
They urged Governor Ayo Fayose to prevail on the electricity company to desist from disconnecting communities when it was only some individuals that defaulted in the payment of electricity bills.
Oba Fadahunsi pleaded for civility in
carrying out the protest, describing the outage as embarrassing.
He said he had made efforts to compel the BEDC to see reason why electricity should be restored, but his pleas fell on deaf ears. The monarch said the youths’ request would be conveyed to the government and the company.
The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr. Kola Oluwawole, enjoined BEDC to ensure that communities enjoyed the electricity they paid for.
Oluwawole, who reacted in Ado-Ekiti through his Special Assistant (Media), Stephen Gbadamosi, in a statement, said it was becoming a daily occurrence for youths to protest lack of electricity due to what he called “the lackadaisical attitude” of the company.