From Victor Akinkuolie, Ado-Ekiti
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Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Oyebanji has called on the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to expedite the metering of all households in the state to address the persistent estimated billing and erratic power supply, which have long plagued residents and businesses in the state.
Oyebanji, who made the call in Ado Ekiti on Thursday during a meeting with the Managing Director of BEDC, Mr. Deolu Ijose, and his team, expressed dissatisfaction with the poor power supply and inconsistent service delivery in the state.
He noted that there has been no value addition by the company to the government’s efforts to improve electricity supply in the state.
Describing the situation as unacceptable, the Governor said the company (BEDC) has frustrated every effort at ensuring improvement in power supply to the state despite spending over 2.6 billion naira on electricity infrastructure.
While demanding more, immediate and tangible improvement, the Governor called for a detailed action plan with clear timelines and measurable goals to address the power supply problems in the state.
“I am extremely dissatisfied with BEDC. Between 2023 and now, we have spent close to 2.6 billion naira to provide infrastructure in the state, but most of this infrastructure have not been commissioned by BEDC. So, we provide infrastructure without electricity, and the people at the end of the day are not benefiting from the money spent. I am not happy with that, and I sense it is a deliberate attempt by BEDC to frustrate us,” the Governor said.
In his remarks, the Managing Director of BEDC, Mr. Deolu Ijose, who commended the Governor for his efforts and the huge investment of the state government in ensuring improvement in power supply, assured the Governor of the company’s commitment to improving the power outages and erratic supply and addressing the billing issues in the state.
The BEDC boss cited logistics challenges and financial constraints as factors responsible for the poor electricity supply to the state and appealed for the patience and cooperation of the government and the residents.