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Story Of Nigeria State City Turned Into A Ghost City After 10 Years Of Blackout
It has been ten years since the residents of Afikpo ancient city, in Afikpo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, enjoyed public power supply.
According to report, they were completely cut off from the national grid.
The situation, according to them, has brought untold hardship and destroyed their economic life.
Afikpo was first energised in 1976 and its small population at that time reportedly had stable electricity.
However, as the population grew, the power infrastructure became overburdened and started failing.
In a bid to find a lasting solution to the power problem in Afikpo and Ebonyi South senatorial zone where most communities have similar epileptic power supply, the then-senator representing the area, Anyim Ude attracted the 133KVA sub-station in Amasiri, a suburb of Afikpo town in 2011.
While work on the substation progressed at a snail’s speed, the already existing power infrastructure in the area collapsed about 10 years ago, throwing the entire local government and neighbouring Edda Local Government into perpetual darkness.
Criminals also capitalised on the situation to vandalise and cart away some high-tension cables and other electrical parts, making it even more difficult to restore power.
Afikpo town, from which the local government draws its name, is the second largest urban centre in the state after Abakaliki, the State capital.
However, it has suffered a gross decline and economic downturn due to the lack of public power supply in the area for over a decade.
Highlighting this, the lawmaker representing Afikpo East State Constituency, Mr Ukie Ezeali said he spends over N3m to buy fuel to run his businesses in the area.
He lamented that similar businesses had packed up due to the situation, worsening the unemployment situation in the area.
He said the lack of power supply has impacted negatively on the socio-economic lives of the people in the area.
“Our people are being compelled to repeat the life of darkness they lived in the olden days.
“It is on record that Afikpo got stable light in 1976 but alas, that stable electricity faded away over 10 years ago.
“This has had a debilitating implication in the development of the town in all spheres of life.
“In education, this has affected the educational development of our children as they no longer can read at night as we used to do back in the days because of lack of electricity.
“This has also led to the complete failure of businesses in the area. Businesses depend on power. Establishing and running a thriving business in Afikpo is almost an impossible venture.
“This has led to low employment and translated to massive poverty in the area. Skill acquisition is no longer interesting to the youths because they can’t survive without power.
“The already established businesses don’t get customers because they have higher price tags to their products because it costs them more to use generators.
“As a result, customers will prefer to go down to Abakaliki or even Onueke to buy at cheaper prices and transport them back to Afikpo.
“As a result, most of the small-scale businesses have folded, while many are in comatose.
“Afikpo town, which is an ancient beautiful town, is now being deserted and looking like a ghost town,” he said.
The lawmaker also noted that the security situation in the area had deteriorated because of lack of power especially at night, as criminals now capitalised on the darkness to carry out their nefarious activities.
He regretted that more than a decade later, the substation, which is believed would permanently solve the power blackout in the area and most parts of Ebonyi South senatorial zone, is yet to be completed.
In February, Governor Francis Nwifuru, following a memo by Mr Ezeali, approved the release of N208 million for the refurbishment of transformers, supply of new ones, and other ancillary works.
This was supposed to facilitate the return of temporary power supply through the High Voltage lines from Nkalagu. But six months later, it has been dogged from one controversy to another.
Last week at a town hall meeting convened by the community’s elders, the lawmaker lampooned the ministry for doing a shoddy job.
Mr Ezeali while addressing the people said the governor is doing everything to ensure a permanent solution to the power situation.
He, however, noted that the Ministry has not been up and doing in completing the rehabilitation works on the transformers.
He accused the Commissioner and the Ministry of diverting the money approved by the Governor for the restoration of power in Afikpo which has cumulatively suffered nearly a decade blackout.
The Commissioner for Power, Peter Ogeali, at a briefing, accused the lawmaker, Mr Ezeali of vendetta against him and the ministry because he was not given the contract for the works.
According to him, Mr. Ezeali had come to him severally and pleaded to be given the contract since he was the one who originated the memo that led to the release of the money.
Mr Ogeali explained that since the approval was given to the Ministry, it elected quality contractors to execute the project working with qualified staff in the ministry to ensure that a good job was done.
He noted that he advised the lawmaker to speak to the governor as he was the only one that can order the ministry to award the contract to him.
The Commissioner further accused the lawmaker of coming back at a later date and begged him to split the money in half which he also refused.
He said: “We strongly believe he merely wanted to paint the Ministry black before his people and to show that to has done more than other stakeholders because there is nothing about the release of funds and the project’s feedback that he is not fully aware of.
“This is to the extent that as a legislator, though not a member of the House Committee on Power, Ukie Ezeali as the people’s representative had the exclusive privilege of being invited to be a part of the Committee when it visited the Ministry on oversight to make inquiries on the said Power project.
“And the committee was reasonably satisfied with the way and manner the project had been dutifully executed.
“Therefore, when a supposed leader in his class and caliber speaks about issues about government and governance as though it is a mere beer parlour affair, his people should be worried that there could have been a lot of devils in the details he has been furnishing the public with.
“Otherwise, apart from the distinctive roles of the Executive and the Legislative arms of government, he knows that all the key people handling the project are from his hometown and Afikpo Local Government Area.
“Even more so is the fact that the Governor had directed the Deputy Governor, Princess Patricia Obila, to supervise and ensure diligent execution of the project upon the said release of funds to the Ministry.
“It is trite therefore to inform the world that we know Ukie’s deep-seated grouse with the project and that is the fact that he desperately wanted to execute it as the sole contractor and perhaps supervisor.
“But he was denied because the Ministry wanted and eventually got someone with a superior knowledge and expertise in the Power field to handle the project to a superb finish and that it exactly got.
“Knowing his antics for the meeting and also being aware that the key figures handling the project are mainly his Afikpo town’s men, why didn’t Hon. Ukie Ezeali request the contractors and the Ministry staff who are from his Afikpo hometown to also be present in the meeting to at least clear the air on the roles of the Ministry regarding the baseless allegations he heaped on it on the said released fund?”
The Ministry explained that it is the responsibility of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to ensure that energy is transmitted from one station to the other and the Discos to ensure that energy gets to the Installed Transformer Substations.
“To this end therefore, it is not the ministry of power that is delaying the supply of energy to Afikpo because the works as directed by the governor have since been completed by the ministry.
“What is delaying the supply of power to Afikpo and in some parts of Ebonyi South Senatorial Zone (Onicha, Isu, Uburu Okposi, etc.) is as a result of the relocation of High Voltage lines between Nkalagu and Ntezi along Enugu – Abakaliki Highway and the vandalised portion of the Network at Okposi axis.
“Already, government at all levels are restlessly trying to resolve these issues, as approval has been given for the request for variations by the contractor handling the 133KVA Amasiri substation to compensate those affected by the said relocation and fully restore electricity not only to Afikpo but other neighbouring communities in Ebonyi South,” the commissioner said.
In reaction, the lawmaker denied ever demanding for the project to be awarded to him or for any part of the money to be given to him.
He noted that as an indigene who feels the pain of the people and knows the importance of the project, he could not have done so.
He further noted that he has all his businesses located in the area and spends a lot on powering generators, adding that he would not take any action to sabotage the project.
He described the allegations by the Commissioner as cheap blackmail, noting that the Commissioner has been noted for such in the past.
Meanwhile, the Ebonyi State Executive Council has waded into the imbroglio.
A statement by the Commissioner for Information, Jude Okporo, said the Council took time to analyze the social media ripples that emanated from the Afikpo Light Project, as well as issues surrounding it.
“After intense and exhaustive deliberation, the Council resolved to inform the general public that the job leading to the restoration of light in Afikpo, contrary to erroneous information being peddled in some sections of the media, has been satisfactorily completed, only awaiting connection to the National Grid after the completion of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) Power Sub-Station, Amasiri, from which the State Government has extracted commitment that the job would be completed before the end of the year.
“It may interest the general public to know that as part of its negotiation with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the State Government has approved payment for the diversion of the high-tension poles affected by the dualization of Enugu-Abakaliki-Ogoja Trans-Sahara Express Way,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Afikpo Community has pleaded with the Federal Government and the Transmission Company of Nigeria to take urgent steps to complete the substation to find a lasting solution to the power situation and help the local government from falling further into economic doom.
The community made the call after their town hall meeting where they commended Governor Nwifuru for the efforts he has been making to solve the power problem.
The community while commending the Federal Government for the efforts so far made urged the TCN to redouble its efforts to ensure that the project is completed before the end of the year.
News
Nigerian Man Nabbed For Stabbing Fellow National To Death In France
A 27-year-old Nigerian man, identified only as Popori, has been arrested in Grenoble, France, for allegedly stabbing a fellow citizen, Monday, to death.
It was gathered that the incident occurred on the evening of Friday, November 22, when a fight broke out between two men during an altercation in a grocery store in Grenoble, Isère, France.
DayFR reports that, according to Grenoble Prosecutor Eric Vaillant, who confirmed information from Dauphiné Libéré, the incident occurred around 8:30pm.
The two men were inside an exotic grocery store when an argument broke out, quickly escalating into a violent altercation.
One of the individuals suddenly stabbed the other in the chest, for reasons still unclear.
Emergency services arrived on the scene but were unable to revive the victim.
On Saturday, the Grenoble public prosecutor announced that a 27-year-old Nigerian man had been taken into police custody at 12:30pm as part of an investigation initiated by the local judicial police service.
News
Longest serving monarch dies at 111
Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa, the longest serving traditional ruler in Bauchi State, is dead.
Inuwa, the village Head of Beli (Sarkin Beli) in Shira Local Government Area of Bauchi, passed away at the Federal Medical Center Azare, Katagum Local Government Area of the state.
The monarch who was 111-year-old spent 91 years on the throne.
Chief Imam of Beli, Liman Musa Abubakar, confirmed the death of monarch which he described as a great loss to the entire people of Northern Nigeria.
During one of the interviews with Daily Trust in his lifetime, the late monarch had said, “Their grandfather was appointed as village head of Beli. He spent 12 years on the throne. He died and our father was appointed the village head. He spent 17 years. After that, I was appointed to the throne when I was 19 years old. This means that by my calculation, I was born around 19 12 or 1913. I was appointed to the throne around 1933 by the Emir of Katagum, AbdulQadir.”
The monarch lived and worked with four different first class Emirs of Katagum.
“We lived with the Emir of Katagum Abdulqadir who appointed me for 12 years before he left the throne and died six months later. Emir Umaru Faruqu was appointed. We spent 35 years with him.
When he died, his son, Muhammadu Kabiru was appointed. We spent 38 years with Emir Kabiru before he died, Again, after Muhammadu Kabiru, the present Emir of Katagum, Umaru Faruq II, was appointed. We lived with him for Six years.
Late Inuwa had said, “I am almost 91 years old on the throne. Alhamdulillahi, we live in peace with the people. And I gave birth to 11 people. Some of them died, but there are seven of them alive – four men and three women.
Many people interviewed said he was a peaceful ruler who [had] listening ears and worked for the peace of the land.”
News
Katsina gov presents N682bn 2025 budget to State Assembly
Governor Dikko Radda of Katsina State on Monday presented the State’s 2025 Budget Proposal to the state House of Assembly.
This is the second full year budget the governor is presenting to the House, which is in the sum of N682,244,449,513.87, covering Recurrent Revenue and Expenditure.
The Budget’s Recurrent Expenditure stands at the sum of N157,967,755,024.36 representing 23.15% while, Capital Expenditure stands at N524,274,694,489.51 representing 76.85%.
The Governor in his speech, announced that, the total of this budget when compared with that of the 2024, has an increase of N200,535,619,501.61, representing 40% increase.
The Governor, at the beginning of his speech, assured the House that his administration has achieved many of its goals and is on course to meet and exceed its targets.
He insisted that his administration has successfully reversed the tide of insecurity which severely threatened the peaceful co-existence of people in the State.
“Many of our local governments have been restored to normalcy while pushing the bandits to the fringes of the forests and, Insha-Allah, to the end of their existence.
“We have expended a lot of resources in fighting insecurity, and we shall continue to do all we can to protect lives and livelihoods in our dear state. I thank the Honourable Members for your support and dedication to ultimate victory,” he said.
The Governor while ranking MDAs by allocations, revealed that the Economic Sector got N302,246,140,569.76 representing 44.3%, followed by the Education Sector with 95,995,873,044.70 representing 14%.
In the same vein, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development got 81,840,275,739.70 representing 12% while the Ministry of Rural and Social Development got 58,728,146,293.72 representing 9%.
Other sectors such as the Ministry of Water Resources, 53,832,219,322.46 representing 8%, Ministry of Environment, 49,835,521,799.25 representing 7%, Ministry of Health, 43,881,752,172.75 representing 6%, Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs 18,938,508,746.95 representing 3%, Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport 9,684,806,758.56 representing 10%.
Other sectors he said are in the sum of 230,759,902,908.71 representing 31% of the total proposed budget
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