Ogun Students Lament on Poor Power Supply

Ogun State Students from various tertiary institutions have expressed their frustrations over the inadequate power supply in their respective communities, saying it has a negative impact on their academics.

Students from institutions such as Tai Solarin University of Education, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Gateway Polytechnic, and others lamented the challenges posed by unstable electricity supply.

Boluwatife Obaowo, a student, criticized the services of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) in the Ijebu-Igbo area, highlighting the difficulties faced by students in studying amidst prolonged blackouts. He described how students resort to charging centers or seeking assistance from locals with generators, sacrificing valuable study time and enduring discomfort, particularly during the dry season when heat becomes unbearable.

In response to the students’ grievances, IBEDC spokesperson Busolami Tunwase acknowledged the challenges faced by the DisCo, citing issues of low allocation from the national grid and vandalism as contributing factors to the poor power supply. Tunwase assured that measures are being taken to address these challenges, including setting up transformer repair workshops and collaborating with independent power producers.

She said, “The tertiary institutions’ areas are not peculiar from the Nigerian communities; if there are no supplies across, there are no supplies. It is an issue of allocation and vandalism; it applies to every area we are covering.

“Some of the solutions IBEDC is coming up with right now, on the issue of vandalism, we will set up a transformer repair workshop to make sure that such are rectified on time.

“We are working with some independent power producers to take care of some areas where we are having challenges, in terms of communities that are underserved.

“From the remit of our control, the stakeholders in the power sector are working together to make sure these challenges are resolved on time.

“On the issue of vandalism, we are strengthening our security, and I am calling on communities to please join hands with us to make sure these vandals are apprehended.”