Residents of Ijero-Ekiti, headquarters of Ijero Local Government Area of Ekiti State, have raised concerns over prolonged electricity outages, with the Ijero-Ekiti Youth Development Forum (IYDF) alleging that the community now receives less than two hours of power supply in a week.
The Forum called on the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Ekiti State Government to urgently intervene in the situation.
President of IYDF, John Afolabi, said the prolonged blackout was affecting businesses, healthcare services, education and the general livelihood of residents.
Afolabi expressed concern that while Ijero-Ekiti was experiencing prolonged outages, some neighbouring communities within the same distribution network were reportedly receiving longer hours of electricity.
He said the situation had gone beyond routine power outages or load shedding and required an urgent investigation into electricity distribution to the community.
According to him, artisans and small-scale business owners have been forced to spend more on fuel or relocate their businesses to areas with better electricity supply, while some have reportedly shut down.
He added that students were finding it difficult to study at night, while healthcare facilities were increasingly relying on generators to provide essential services.
Afolabi said families were also spending a significant portion of their income on fuel and generator maintenance due to the persistent power shortage.
He stressed that the issue was not only about electricity supply but also equal access to public infrastructure.
“The people of Ijero-Ekiti are not second-class citizens. They pay their electricity bills. They pay their taxes. They are entitled to the same national infrastructure that other Nigerians receive,” he said.
The youth body called for an immediate review of electricity allocation to Ijero-Ekiti and urged BEDC to work towards providing between 12 and 16 hours of electricity supply daily.
It also demanded an urgent technical audit of transformers and feeder lines serving the community, with faulty infrastructure repaired or replaced where necessary.
The Forum further called for an end to what it described as arbitrary estimated billing and urged the deployment of prepaid meters across the local government area.
It appealed to NERC and the Ekiti State Government to investigate the electricity situation and ensure that necessary measures are taken to address the challenges confronting residents of Ijero-Ekiti.
