Business activities were disrupted on Wednesday at the regional office of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) in Osogbo as angry residents protested what they described as persistent epileptic power supply in the Osun State capital and neighbouring communities.
The aggrieved residents, drawn from communities including Owo-Eba, Ilesa-Garage, Tara, Oke-Baale axis, OSBC Area, UNIOSUN axis, Akede, Air Force Base, Army Depot, Boredun, Coker, Odu and Omu, converged at Oke-Baale roundabout before marching nearly three kilometres to IBEDC’s regional office on Station Road.
They chanted solidarity songs and displayed placards bearing various inscriptions such as “We can’t be paying for darkness,” “Our businesses are dying,” and “Bring back our light,” the protesters
The demonstrators, while demanding immediate improvement in power supply, accused the electricity distribution company of neglecting consumers while continuing to issue estimated and prepaid bills despite prolonged outages.
Addressing IBEDC officials on behalf of the protesters, Mr. Badmus Akeem said the crisis worsened after the affected communities were downgraded from Band A to Band C.
He alleged that since the reclassification, residents had struggled to receive up to four hours of electricity daily, contrary to the minimum 12 hours stipulated under the band classification system.
“The impact of this epileptic power supply has been devastating. Residents are experiencing severe hardship, small-scale businesses are on the verge of collapse, and corporate institutions are significantly affected,” Akeem said.
He cited the Osun State Broadcasting Corporation as one of the institutions affected, alleging that it now transmits for less than six hours daily due to inadequate electricity supply.
The protesters demanded that all communities under their umbrella be restored to Band A within seven days and called on IBEDC to urgently address the supply shortfall in line with the stipulated minimum hours per band.
They warned that failure to meet the demand within the ultimatum period could lead to lawful collective actions, including reconsidering operational access for IBEDC personnel in the affected areas.
Responding, IBEDC Regional Manager, Mr. Ifeanyi Ikeji, said the company was willing to return the communities to Band A but would not rush the decision without first addressing generation constraints affecting supply.
He explained that power generation challenges were nationwide and also impacted customers on Band A, which he described as the company’s most viable category.
Ikeji further identified the high number of unmetered customers as another obstacle, urging residents to encourage meter acquisition to meet the 90 per cent metering requirement for Band A customers.
He assured the protesters that the company would continue engaging with stakeholders to find a lasting solution to the power supply challenges.
