The Nigeria Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is set to inaugurate a 132/33KV electricity substation in Ode-Erinje in Okitipupa in order to end the 15 years of blackout in Ondo South Senatorial District.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the over 2,000 communities in the five local government are to expected to be lit up when the substation is inaugurated later in April
Speaking with NAN after inspection of the project on Saturday, Sir Victor Antai, the NDDC Executive Director, Projects, said that the completed electricity sub-station was already connected to the national grid.
He described the power station as a legacy project that would boost economic activities in Ondo State and improve the living standards of the benefitting communities.
Antai stressed that the NDDC was committed to providing electricity to the oil-producing communities that had been without electricity for the past 15 years.
He said that the sub-station will be inaugurated ĺater this month.
“The power sub-station is a legacy project which is in line with the directive of our Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, to see to the completion and commissioning of legacy projects that will make meaningful impact on the lives of our people.
“The MD/CEO has also directed that we replicate this legacy project across all states in the Niger Delta, and we thank the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for giving the NDDC a performing Governing Board that has the interest of the people at heart.
“We are committed to lighting up all the local government areas and the oil-producing communities in Ondo South Senatorial District.
“This is part of NDDC’s mandate to provide infrastructure and development projects in the Niger Delta region. The Commission is committed to fulfilling this mandate by completing all on-going projects,” he said.
Antai stated that the power sub-station would provide electricity to over 2,000 communities across the five local government areas within the oil-producing region of Ondo State, significantly impacting lives by ending decades of darkness.
The Executive Director, Projects noted that the NDDC had also awarded contract for the total rehabilitation of the distribution network because it was eager to hook up the power lines to the injection sub-station and enable the benefiting communities to enjoy electricity from the national grid.
Mr Benson Obayelu, who spoke for the contracting firm, said that the scope of the power project covered the evacuation of light from Omotosho Power Station with a step down at Ode-Erinje, Okitipupa, through a 132KV double circuit transmission line with two 30/40MVA transformers.
According to him, the transmission lines run through Ireje with 145 electricity towers that are standing on concrete foundations.
He observed that five local government areas in the Southern Senatorial district of Ondo State that have been without public power supply would be connected when the project was inaugurated.
In his remarks, Dr Obafemi Ogbaro, Acting National Chairman of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities of Nigeria, TROMPCON, said that nothing mattered more to the people in Ondo South Senatorial District than being connected to the national grid
Also, the Ondo State Representative on the NDDC Board, Mr Otito Atikase, observed that several communities across the five local government areas in the oil production belt of Ondo State were eagerly waiting for the lights to be turned on in their localities.
He said that access to electricity was essential for economic development and improving the quality of life of the people.
Atikase said that lack of electricity had hindered growth and development in many communities in the Niger Delta region.
“NDDC’s efforts to provide electricity to these communities will have a significant impact on their lives and contribute to the overall development of the region,” he said. (NAN)