Governor Ayo Fayose of
Ekiti State on Wednesday in Abuja said that protracted poor power supply
to the state was militating against the economic and social growth of
the state.
Fayose made the call during a courtesy visit on the Chairman of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Sam Amadi.
He,
therefore, appealed to the commission to liaise with Benin Electricity
Distribution Company (BEDC) whose operations cover the state to help in
restoring power supply to the state.
Fayose said that most parts of the state had been in blackout over the past 10 months.
“Ekiti
has been in blackout since I came in as governor. All that I want is a
solution to the blackout that has persisted in the state,” he said.
According
to him, some communities in the state have protested the continued
blackout by destroying property and beating up workers of the
electricity distribution company.
“Members
of the communities have to block highways preventing people from going
about their businesses but following my intervention they re-opened the
roads,” he said.
Fayose said that as
soon as he got back to the state, he would redeem the pledge of N5
million he made to settle part of electricity bills owed by the
communities.
He urged the commission
to do everything within its powers to ensure that power was restored in
the affected communities as soon as possible.
“If
we leave the matter hanging, it may portend danger because there have
been protests by the communities in recent times,” he said.
Responding,
Amadi said that the blackout in parts of Ekiti state was as a result of
hitches in the transmission process, adding that the commission was
working out solutions to address the challenge.
“The case of Ekiti is as a result of failure in transmission,” he said.
He
said that service providers had the obligation to provide consumers
with quality service while the consumers on their part had the
obligation to pay their bills promptly.
Amadi
said that the commission would not encourage indiscriminate
disconnection of consumers from power by distribution companies.
He assured Fayose that the commission would meet with the management of the BEDC to proffer solution to the problem.
An
official of the BEDC, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on
condition of anonymity, said that repair work on the transmission line
to Ekiti state was in progress
