EARLIER, in the week, Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu recently inaugurated projects for the restoration of electricity supply to the state Southern Senatorial District.
THE projects involve the installation of a solar power plant in households of Aboto, Igbobini and surrounding areas before their connection to the grid by the federal government.
THE initiative will include the construction of substations in Igodan-Lisa and University of Science and Technology.
THE projects, which are based on a survey conducted in the area, would include the rehabilitation of the five-kilometer, 33 kv line from Okitipupa to Igodan-Lisa.
THE federal government is partnering with the State government on the project. While the Niger Delta Power Holding Company will carry out the projects, the office of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Utilities will cater for the interest of the state government.
ACCORDING to Engineer Ifeoluwa Oyedele, the Executive Director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company, the project will be finalized within six months.
ON the part of the state government, it has embarked on a mini-grid and solar-power supply to some communities in the area not connected to the National Grid.
NEEDLESS to say, the people in the Southern Senatorial District have been experiencing challenges over power supply in the past ten years.
CONSEQUENTLY, they have been forced to live in darkness, with their business activities paralysed due to shortage of power.
STAKEHOLDER meetings have taken place with a view to finding solutions to the challenge, but they have failed to achieve any kind of success due to multifarious problems.
THOUGH past administrations have intervened in the issue, they were unable to alleviate the problems of the people.
SEEN within this context, The Hope commends the federal and state governments for taking steps to tackle the challenge head on.
WITH their intervention, local fishing in the area will experience a boost, as fishermen and women would not have much problems preserving their catch.
EQUALLY important, the cost of buying fuel and diesel to power generators will crash, enabling the beneficiaries to improve their profit margin.
THIS will ease the pressure they are experiencing over an economic recession that continues to paralyze economic activities in the country.
THE development will boost local businesses that depend on power for their operations, leading to expansion in employment rates.
SINCE youths would be offered employment opportunities by the contractors during the construction period of the projects, they would find a temporary solution to their unemployment problems.
THE federal government, the state government, fishermen and women and youths will end up winners once light is restored to the Southern Senatorial District.
HAVING said this, we appeal to the contractors to expedite action on the project, to prevent youths having to block the Lagos-Ore-Benin Expressway in protests over the blackout in the area.
WE also call on stakeholders in the benefitting communities to cooperate with the contractors during the period of the intervention.
UNLESS the contractor are allowed to carry out their duties in a peaceful atmosphere, they would not be able to restore power to the area.
WHILE thanking the Akeredolu administration for partnering with the federal government on the project, we call on it to look for more partners as regards the endemic power problem in the Southern Senatorial District.
IT should provide adequate security to the contractors so they are not molested by troublemakers bent on causing problems.
FOR instance, security will definitely be needed to protect the solar panels needed for the intervention from thieves and other miscreants.
It should also ensure the federal government fulfills its promise to connect the project to the national grid at the termination at the installation period. With cooperation from all stakeholders, the people in the Southern Senatorial District will be provided an enabling environment to increase their quota towards the overall development of the state.
