The Ondo State government at the weekend gave reasons why it supported the recent protest by youths from the Southern senatorial district following over 10 years of blackout in the area.
It described the blockage of the Benin-Ore-Lagos road as a welcome development.
Addressing reporters in Akure, the state capital, after a parley between the state government and management of Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), the Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Utilities, Tunji Ariyomo, said the youths’ action aligned with the position of the state government on the matter.
The governor’s aide called for more well-meaningful residents to join the agitation until the problem is resolved.
He said: “Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu was the first to lead this protest immediately he was sworn in last year. He directed that we aggressively engage BEDC.
“But beyond this, Mr. Governor personally visited and deployed his goodwill to rally the leadership of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the Niger Delta Power Holding Company and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to step in.”
Ariyomo said the moves led to the reactivation of the abandoned transmission substation in Okitipupa and the release of fund for the construction of a transmission line from Omotoso to Ode-Erinje in Okitipupa Local Government Area.
The governor’s aide noted that contractors were mobilised back to the site of the regional 330/132/33KVA transmission substation near Owode in Akure, which he said had been abandoned for years.
According to him, the state had taken over the abandoned 30MW tri-fuel plant in Ore and completed it so that it would serve critical parts of the southern senatorial district.
When reminded that the protesters also blamed the state government for the power situation, Ariyomo said: “It is within their (youths’) right to blame us. But an average Nigerian knows that the current national electricity engagement strategy is outside the control of state government. We have no control over BEDC, for instance.”