The Delta State Government on Wednesday said it is intensifying efforts to resolve the longstanding electricity challenge in Ndokwa Nation.
Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, while reacting to the recent Light Up Ndokwa Nation protests during a press conference in Asaba, assured residents that concrete steps are being taken to provide a lasting solution to the prolonged power outage in the area.
The commissioner said for a very long time, power generation and distribution had been an exclusive preserve of the federal government.
“For a very, very long time, transmission remained the exclusive preserve of the federal government, and that meant that even when you generate, you will need to upload the power you have generated into the national grid for onward distribution to the other parts of the country.
“But, over time, there was some form of deregulation, which started from the Jonathan administration, which paved the way for some private sector players to come in.
“That made it possible for certain individuals in the private sector to invest in power generation and distribution.
“Only recently, a certain form of liberalization has taken place, and to the extent that states can go into some form of generation and distribution, but under certain conditions.
“The Okpai power project is not a state government project; we can only begin to make efforts to see how we can begin to also benefit, and that is ongoing.
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“I am also aware that the Deputy Governor of the state, Sir Monday Onyeme, who is from the Ndokwa nation, has been mandated by the governor to begin to look into how we can ensure that our brothers and sisters over there get connected.
“They have had several meetings with them, and an effort is being made to deal with the challenges between the then Power Holding Company of Nigeria before it moved to the Benin Electricity Distribution Company as to how to settle certain outstanding liabilities so that they can begin a process of getting them reconnected to the grid.
“Because there was this absence of power that power distribution channels along that corridor being energized, it made it possible for some criminals to tamper with the power infrastructure in that corridor so which means that it’s now a question of going to provide certain power or energy infrastructure for them to be effectively connected,” Aniagwu said.
The commissioner further clarified that the Gov. Oborevwori administration has done quite a lot for the Ndokwa Nation and other parts of the state, and appealed for patience to enable the state government to address their concerns.
