The Aruogba community in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo has appealed to Gov. Monday Okpebholo for the provision of a transformer.
The Secretary of the Landlord Association, Mr. Kingsley Ogbeide, made the appeal on Tuesday, 16 September during an interview with the newsmen in Benin City.
Ogbeide said the community has been plagued by persistent power outages due to a very old and weak transformer that can no longer meet the community’s needs.
“Residents have been suffering from electricity shortages because of a very old and weak transformer that can no longer meet the community’s needs.
.” The community’s transformer, which is 300KV, is outdated and inefficient, resulting in frequent power outages.
“Despite contributing almost N2 million, the community still requires an additional N10 to N11 million to purchase a new transformer and install it, totaling around N12 to N13 million,” he added.
According to him, the only 300KV transformer is located on the access road along Aruogba, just by St. Andrew’s Catholic Church.
He stated that the community had appealed to the previous Edo government led by Gov Godwin Obaseki, but unfortunately, their plea was not addressed.
The Secretary of the Landlord Association noted that association members have been trying to reach out to the new government led by Sen Okpebholo, seeking assistance to resolve the power outage issue.
Ogbeide highlighted the difficulties faced by residents, including the impact on daily life and economic activities.
Notably, Okpebholo’s administration has launched a rural electrification program aimed at connecting abandoned communities to the national grid and addressing issues like estimated billing and vandalism of power infrastructure.
The government has also emphasized the importance of metering and billing transparency.
He said that a potential solution to address the power outage issue in Aruogba would be installing a new, more efficient transformer to meet the community’s power needs.
The Aruogba landlords expressed their readiness to collaborate with the State Government to access funding or support for infrastructure upgrades and ensure the sustainability of the solution, preventing future issues.
With this collaboration, the Aruogba community may be able to find a lasting solution to their power outage challenges.