Residents and youth groups in Boripe local government council area of Osun State have expressed frustration over prolonged electricity outages, as the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC, attributed the situation to reduced power supply from the national grid.
The Nigerian Youth Congress, Boripe chapter, said the persistent blackout had negatively affected homes, businesses and educational activities in the area.
In a statement issued in Osogbo, the group’s coordinator, Hammed Oyetunji, said communities within the local government had endured weeks of unstable power supply.
According to him, “the absence of electricity has disrupted economic activities and daily life for residents.
“For weeks, our communities have been subjected to prolonged blackout, causing serious hardship to residents, business owners, students and artisans.”
He added that electricity remained a critical factor in economic growth and public safety, stressing that its absence had slowed business activities across the local government.
Oyetunji also noted that many small-scale entrepreneurs had resorted to alternative sources of energy to keep their businesses running.
“Small businesses are incurring additional costs through alternative power sources, while students preparing for examinations are struggling to study effectively at night,” he stated.
He said the blackout had placed additional financial pressure on many households.
The youth leader called on IBEDC to provide a clear explanation for the prolonged outages and urgently restore stable electricity to the affected communities.
Residents had last week taken their grievances to the regional office of the distribution company in Osogbo, where they staged a protest over the power situation.
Demonstrators were seen chanting solidarity songs while demanding improved electricity supply to their communities.
Security personnel were deployed around the office during the protest to maintain order as tensions rose.
The protesters also issued a seven-day ultimatum to the distribution company to restore their communities to Band A electricity classification.
They warned that failure to address the situation could lead to further lawful collective actions against the company’s operations within the communities.
Responding to the concerns, IBEDC said the supply challenges were linked to reduced generation and instability in the national grid.
In a statement by the IBEDC management, the company explained that gas supply shortages to power generation plants had significantly lowered electricity generation across the country.
“Gas supply shortages to electricity generation plants have significantly reduced generation capacity nationwide, forcing distribution companies to implement increased load shedding,” the company said.
IBEDC added that electricity demand within its franchise areas had increased, particularly following the introduction of additional Band A feeders.
It stated that the energy allocated to the company from the national grid had remained inconsistent, creating a gap between electricity demand and available supply.
The company apologised to customers affected by the outages and said it was working with stakeholders across the electricity value chain to improve supply stability.
“We understand the frustration this situation has created among our customers and sincerely apologise for the disruption to homes, businesses and economic activities,” the company said.