Ondo youths lament 3 years power outage in Akoko
Aggrieved youths in Akoko area of Ondo state have decried the continuous power outage which has crippled social and economic activities in the area.
The youths are majorly from the four regions of (Akoko North West, Akoko North East, Akoko South West and Akoko South East) in the Northern Senatorial District.
They spoke with journalists under the auspices of the Akoko Concerned Youths (ACY) following what they called the neglect of the region by some the political leaders from the area.
The coordinator of the group, Adedotun Abayomi Olomolatan, who spoke on their behalf said the four Akoko regions had been in total blackout for the past three years with little effort from leaders of the area.
Comrade Olomolatan disclosed that the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) had already billed the four local council areas the sum of N34 million.
According to him, some necessary arrangements have been put in place to offsets the debts owed by the customers in the Akoko area in order to restore power.
“We make bold to state that AYC will no longer standby and watch our politicians subject us to this persisting darkness by shying away from their responsibilities.”
He revealed that the BEDC customers in the Akoko area had already responded by paying the sum the N2000 charges per house to offset the pending debt.
He added that the sum of N11. 4 million has been generated with the balance of N11. 6 million after an agreed 20 percent discount by the BEDC.
Comrade Olomolatan also lauded Prof. Ajayi Boroffice who donated the sum of N5 million to alleviate the financial burdens on the people and Bamiduro Dada who paid for Ikun community in Akoko South West council.
“We commend the effort of the Asiwaju of Akoko Land, Senator (Prof) Robert Ajayi Boroffice for the bold step he has taken and his immense contribution of the sum of #5m to alleviate the entire debt of #28m charged by the BEDC.
“We still urge fellow residents of Akoko region to please try and be more committed to the payment of #2000, as our findings have revealed that only Ikun Akoko in Akoko South West Local Government whose illustrious son paid on behalf of the entire community has been able to meet up with more than the 80% threshold stipulated as a criteria by the BEDC for connecting the light”.
“We also want to emphatically appreciate the doggedness and sincere concern of the leadership of NANS led by Comrade Chinonso Obasi, who has always urged the FG to see to the plights of Akoko Students”.
The coordinator, however, expressed disgust at the indifference of some political representatives in the areas to the plight of people from the region.
