With the development, 21 communities affected by a prolonged power outage will be reconnected.

In an unprecedented social investment gesture, management of the Ibese Cement plant moved to support the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC, with all the items needed to reconnect the communities back to the national grid out of empathy for the affected communities.

Traditional rulers from the affected towns were full of praises for the chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote, for approving over N100 million to procure the needed electrical items as they took delivery and in turn handed over to the IBEDC officials.

Lauding the rare gesture by Dangote Cement Ibese Plant to intervene for the second time by providing the electrical items, the community leaders enjoined the IBEDC to deliver speedily on the light reconnection, in view of the plant’s donation.

Pressured by the communities’ leaders, the IBEDC assured that it would complete the reconnection of all the affected communities within four to six weeks from the hand-over date.

Speaking while handing over the electrical materials within the premises of Ibese Police Station, Ibese Plant Director, Roy Uttam, said the donation was part of efforts made by the cement plant management to halt the prolonged blackout in the affected towns and villages, and advised the people to ensure the electrical installations were protected.

Uttam pointed out that the plant management had invested millions of Naira to purchase the electrical materials in the spirit of good neighbourliness.

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He said, “Otherwise it should be the job of the IBEDC to provide the materials as a business venture that would be collecting money from the customers after reconnecting them.”

“The management of Dangote Cement Plc is donating the electrical materials to close out the lingering power outage in the affected communities which have been in darkness for years due to vandalisation of cables and other installations by unscrupulous elements,” he added.

The Ibese Plant Director further explained that the decision to intervene was borne out of genuine care for the people and the desire to help mitigate the negative impact of the outage on socio-economic activities of the people.

He reiterated the cement company’s commitment to the sustainable development of its host communities and continued collaboration on initiatives geared towards the general wellbeing of the people. “We cherish living happily with our communities,” he said.

One after another, traditional rulers from the affected communities eulogised the Dangote Cement Ibese plant management for their efforts to ensure that all the electrical materials were finally procured and donated to the people just as they had promised.

Olu of Imasayi, Oba Lukman Kuoye described the material donation as the result of some positive engagements the management of Ibese Plant had with various interest groups especially the communities and the IBEDC on the way out of the protracted blackout.

“We thank God it is a reality today that we are on the way to getting reconnected to national grid after over three years in darkness. We want to thank Dangote Cement Ibese Plant for this development. We are not taking this for granted.

“Dangote Cement is the only transformer that is illuminating the Yewa communities and Ogun State in general with its CSR projects. The management did not even consider the IBEDC’s inertia but still went ahead to donate materials that are supposed to be provided by the distribution company,” he enthused.

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Dr Uthman Adedeji, the General Secretary of UCH’s Association of Resident Doctors, ARD, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.

Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC, had reconnected the UCH on Wednesday after some intervention following power outage of over 100 days.

However, some parts of the College’s residential quarters were not reconnected.

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The resident doctors then embarked on an indefinite strike on Monday insisting that all parts of the residential quarters must be reconnected.

Adedeji said that power had now been restored to all parts of the residential areas, leading to the association suspending the industrial action.

“Arising from the Emergency General Meeting, EGM, we just ended this Tuesday night, the total and indefinite strike embarked upon at 4:01 p.m. on Monday has been suspended.

“Work will resume by 8 a.m. on Wednesday and all members are to resume at their duty posts at this time,” he said.

Source: NAN

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The Association’s General Secretary, Dr Uthman Adedeji, said in Ibadan that the strike was due to power outage in some of the hospital’s residential areas.

Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC, reconnected UCH on Wednesday, after more than 100 days of power outage.

The association had earlier issued a communique that members would embark on an indefinite strike if electricity was not restored not later than 4 p.m. on Monday.

Adedeji said while electricity had been restored only some parts of the residential quarters were reconnected.

“Arising from the just-concluded Emergency General Meeting (EGM) of ARD UCH which was convened to appraise the current situation, it was observed that a part of the residential quarters were reconnected.

“Some other parts were however left in darkness.

“In the light of the prevailing circumstance, we are left with no other option than to embark on the earlier planned total and indefinite strike until all residential quarters are sorted (taken care of).

“We acknowledge the efforts of the UCH Management towards meeting our demand, but a lot needs to be done in order to guarantee uninterrupted service delivery.”

Adedeji assured that the association would regularly review the current imbroglio infringing on the welfare of its members.

Source: NAN

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The warning is contained in a communiqué from its emergency meeting held on February 14, which was made available to newsmen on Monday in Ibadan.

The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC, reconnected the UCH on February 12, after more than 100 days of power outage.

According to the communiqué signed by the chapter’s President, Dr Gboyega Ajibola, and General Secretary, Dr Uthman Adedeji, the residential areas were not reconnected.

The duo noted that that was in spite of the residential areas having prepaid meters with units amounting to hundreds of thousands of naira.

They added that after exploring all available options to engage with the UCH management and address the issue, an emergency congress was convened.

They said the congress demanded that all residential areas within the hospital, including East Gate Road, as well as Circular Road surrounding the College of Medicine, should have their power restored not later than 4p.m., on Monday.

“Failure to restore the areas requested will result in the congress of the chapter initiating a total and indefinite strike.

“The congress supports accelerating the unbundling process of Electrical power blocs in the hospital to promote harmony.

“But the leadership of ARD must be included in all delegations for critical discussions, meetings or summons by higher authorities concerning power supply in UCH.

“We resolved that a strongly worded letter outlining the true narrative regarding power situation, be sent to the Chief Medical Director, CMD, with relevant stakeholders informed,” they said.

The duo also urged the CMD, Prof. Jesse Otegbayo, to process the payment of the 75 per cent accoutrement allowance for 2024 without delay.

They further urged the management to prioritise the welfare of resident doctors, reflecting the goodwill of congress members demonstrated over the past 100 days.

“We call for sustained modality of ‘call food’ provision to resident doctors on call,” they added.

Source: NAN

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He said this at the Power and Water Exhibition & Conference, held in Lagos, with various stakeholders in the industry participating.

The conference which was designed to deliberate on problems bedeviling the energy and water sector as well as proffer solutions to tackle some of them, attracted global audience with common goal.

Ayodele who was a panelist at the discussion level on Together for A Better Tomorrow-Regional Electricity Cooperation and Integration, said “African nations should devote parts of the money used for ammunition on electricity, such move will have direct improvement in the standard of living in the continent.”

He said, “for Africa to be self-sufficient we must integrate ourselves and be willing to do the needful”.

He said the conference came up at a very appropriate time, with huge responsibilities on stakeholders to look for solutions, engage in technical discussion and do on the spot assessment of the region’s opportunities in power generation and distribution.”

The IBEDC COO expressed  confidence that “the event provides the opportunity for the players in the industry to be acquainted with innovations and inventions that will greatly improve our services to our esteemed customers.”

The three-day event tagged, Digitalization, Sustainability and Optimization, was put together by Vertex NEXT, a global business optimisation solutions provider.

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The two parties, after a meeting at the Government Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan declared their readiness to work together to find an amicable resolution of all issues surrounding the recent sealing of the IBEDC offices in Ibadan by the state government.

The parties, in a statement jointly released shortly after a meeting, vowed to continue to work together in the interest of the residents of the state.

They assured members of the public of the restoration of electricity as soon as possible, adding that the two parties would continue amicable resolution of the issue and work together to make electricity meters available to all residents of the state.

The statement jointly signed by the Oyo State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Barr. Temilolu Seun Ashamu, and the Chief Operating Officer of the IBEDC, Engr. John Ayodele, reads in part: “This is to notify the general public that the Oyo State Government and the IBEDC have resolved and agreed to work together in the interest of the public.

“The general public is hereby assured of the restoration of electricity supply as soon as possible, while the two parties shall continue amicable resolution of the issue in the interest of the public, including working together to make electricity meters available to residents of the state.”

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The board, in a statement by its chairman, Mr. Femi Awakan, said that the state government duly obtained an order of the Oyo State High Court before sealing some of the offices of the distribution company.

Some of the offices sealed in Wednesday’s action include the company’s headquarters in Ring Road, Ibadan and its offices at Mobil, off Ring Road, Dugbe, Ojoo/Iwo Road office as well as Monatan, all in Ibadan.

The state government had applied for the warrant to enforce the payment through suit No. M/122/2022, which has the Governor of Oyo State, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and the Board of Internal Revenue Service of Oyo State as applicants, while IBEDC is the respondent.

According to the statement, the state government had, in line with its avowed commitment to the observance of the rule of law, filed an application before Justice O.M Olagunju, seeking the issuance of a warrant authorising its officers to “distrain upon any land, premises or places of which the respondent (IBEDC) is the owner.”

The court order is to enable the state government to enforce the payment of arrears of taxes to the tune of N400,546,111,41k, being taxes accumulated by the IBEDC in respect of Harmonised bills, Infrastructure bills, Tax Audit bills and Signage bills, and which the company has failed to pay in the last two years.

A breakdown of the bills is shown as follows:

• Harmonised Bill- N139.440,000.00
• Infrastructure Bills-N122.590,000.00
• Tax Audit Bills- N116,516,111.41
• Signage Bills- N22,000,000.00

“It is to be noted that the IBEDC has a statutory obligation to deduct and remit revenue bills to the government of Oyo State through the Board of Internal Revenue.

“It is also to be noted that the distribution company failed and neglected to remit any such personal income tax of its employees within the period under review and that the Board of Internal Revenue several times served requisite demand notices calling attention to the company’s tax liabilities/obligations,” the statement reads.

Relying on section 45 of the Revenue Law of Oyo State, the presiding judge, Justice O.M Olagunju, issued the warrant and affirmed that:  “Accordingly, I hereby issue a warrant in favour of the officers of the applicant (Oyo State Government) named in the schedule to this application authorising one or all of the named officers to distrain upon any land, premises or places of which the respondent is the owner particularly the respondents head office at Ring Road and Dugbe Ibadan for the purpose of enforcing payment of taxes in the sum of N226,756,000.41k only, representing its outstanding tax liability for the year 2021 of assessment which has become final and conclusive.”

Though the Court order affirmed the 2021 tax liabilities to the tune of N226,756,000.41, as final and conclusive for immediate enforcement, the total tax arrears payable by IBEDC is in excess of N400 million and this excludes Land Use Charges and others.

“Consequently, the Board of Internal Revenue, acting on the valid court order, put effect to the warrant and sealed off some of the offices of the IBEDC in order to enforce the payment of the outstanding bills,” the Revenue chairman added.

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The Chief Technical Officer, CTO, of the company, Mr. Akin Abiodun, in a statement issued in Ibadan, said that would enable communities at Mowe, Magboro, Ibafo and environs benefit from the newly commissioned Abeokuta Transmission Station at Kobape.

He said the on-going construction of the double circuit 33kV overhead lines from the new transmission station through Sagamu Interchange to Mowe, was divided into five segments and awarded to different contractors to hasten completion.

According to him,  presently four segments of the project had been completed which represented 80 per cent completion, stating that the completed sections of the lines had been soaked while the contractor assigned the remaining 20 per cent of the segment was on site working assiduously to ensure the completion of the project soon.

He however revealed that there was a bottleneck created by the ongoing construction of the third over-head bridge at kilometer 55, a few kilometers to Sagamu Interchange, noting that that had prevented the linkage of the existing 33KV line with the new lines that are proposed to serve as alternative to the line coming from Oke-Aro TCN Substation.

Abiodun nevertheless appealed to customers at Mowe, Ibafo, Magboro and environs to remain patient and be rest assured of improved supply in the shortest possible time.

“IBEDC is not insensitive to the present irregular supply being experienced in Mowe, Ibafo, Magboro and environs. We sincerely apologise for all inconveniences this present situation might have caused our esteemed customers.

“We are also appealing to our unmetered customers in these locality to be rest assured of getting metered through the National Mass Metering Program, NMMP, and any other scheme that may be approved by the regulator,” he  said.

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The Chief Operating Officer of the distribution company,  Engr. John Ayodele, in a statement made available to journalists in Ibadan, wished all its customers and Nigerians a safe and enjoyable holiday season, stating that measures had been put in place to ensure network stability and smooth operation.

His words: “In anticipation of customers’ expectations during the holidays, we are fully equipped to ensure faults are cleared as fast as possible across our franchise to avoid unnecessary disruption of power supply.”

Ayodele also urged customers and all Nigerians to demonstrate the virtues of love, compassion and peace which are the cardinal pillars of epitomized by Christmas.

He said although 2020 had been a year plagued by many challenges, IBEDC still demonstrated its commitment to excellent service delivery by creating more Customer Care Units across its franchise for quicker resolutions of complaints and faults, upgraded and installed some major electrical infrastructure.

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The Chief Operating Officer, COO, of the company, Mr. John Ayodele, who made the disclosure in a statement issued in Ibadan, the new tariff was commensurate and aligned with the quality and availability of power supply committed to each cluster of customers under the SRT.

He explained that the review was critical to the provision of more efficient and reliable service to customers, upgrade aging infrastructure and be more responsive to the complaints of the customers.

He said: “The new tariff plan will not only empower us to provide better service, but it will also promote fairness. We therefore appeal for the understanding and cooperation of our esteemed customers as we commence the implementation of the Service Reflective Tariff through prompt payment of electricity bills and vending, as we are resolutely committed to delivering improved and  better service.”

Ayodele further stated that the tariff review would not affect customers experiencing an average power supply availability of less than 12 -hours per day over a period of one month.

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