Twenty-two of the 774 local government areas (LGAs) in Nigeria have had no access to electricity in both their headquarters and their communities for decades.
Some of the councils, which were created between 20 and 30 years ago, have not been electrified for once.
Others have their power facilities destroyed by insurgents and vandals and have remained in darkness for more than 10 years. There are also those battling with uncompleted power projects which were either initiated by their state governments or the intervention agencies of the federal government.
Investigation by LEADERSHIP Sunday showed that Borno State has nine LGAs which have no electricity, Zamfara (4), Kogi (1), Ondo (4), Ebonyi (1), Delta (1) and Niger (2).
The general manager, Borno State Rural Electricity Board (BRE), Shettima Bukar, told our correspondent that the 27 local government areas of the state were connected with electricity until Boko Haram terrorists vandalised and destroyed power facilities in some of the councils.
He named the affected LGAs as Marte, Malam-Fatori, Kukawa, Mobbar, Guzamala, Kala-balge, Damboa, Gwoza and Bama. He said they were not enjoying electricity supply because of the destruction of power facilities in their respective areas by terrorists.
Bukar, however, said that the board was executing its proposal in Bama to Gwoza and Limankara with the erection of electric poles, adding that the agency would extend the restoration of electricity to the other local government areas not yet electrified.
In Zamfara State, 10 of the 14 local government areas are connected to the national grid, but most of their communities are in darkness.
LEADERSHIP Sunday learnt that over 70 percent of residents in Zamfara have not been connected to the national grid. Residents of the councils complained of the non-existence of electricity since the creation of the state in 1996.
It was gathered that Birnin Magaji, a local government headquarters, was never connected to the national grid since the creation of the state in 1996.
Three other local government areas: Kaura-Namoda, Zurmi and Shinkafi, which were connected to the national grid, have been without electricity for over a year.
The commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Garba Yandi, said the state government under Governor Dauda Lawal’s “Rescue Mission” was working to ensure that the communities were connected to the national grid.
He said the government had in the 2025 budget designed ways to overcome the challenge.
A check in Niger State revealed that only Mashegu and Bangi headquarters of Mashegu and Mariga local government areas respectively were yet to have power supply.
The two LGAs are yet to enjoy power supply for over 31 years of their existence.
Attempts to get the local government chairmen proved abortive but sources hinted that a notable politician from Mariga local government area has promised to connect Bangi to the national electricity.
It was learnt that work was ongoing to connect Mashegu to electricity as the present administration of Governor Umar Bago had renewed investments in rural electrification through his New Niger Development Agenda.
Ibaji council in the eastern flank of Kogi State has remained the only council headquarters in the state without electricity for decades, the council secretariat not exempted.
LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that the entire LGA has no source of power supply due to its flooding terrain.
Speaking with our correspondent in Lokoja, the deputy speaker of the Kogi State House of Assembly, representing Ibaji state constituency, Hon Comfort Egwaba, lamented that Ibaji had never enjoyed electricity supply since its creation and called on both the federal and the state governments to provide the area with electricity either through the national grid or solar-powered system.
“We have never enjoyed electricity supply since the local government was created in 1976. Our appeal is that the federal and state governments should come to our aid through the rural electrification agency. We are doing our best to supply power to some of our communities through solar power but we believe that the government can do better by extending power to the area particularly the LG headquarters and by extension the council secretariat,” she said.
For 14 years now, four of the five councils in the southern senatorial district of Ondo State have been battling with power outages.
The councils are Irele, Okitipupa, Ese Odo and Ilaje. They were disconnected from the national grid by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).
It was gathered that the inability to connect the communities to the national grid was due to a damaged breaker at the Ondo 132/33KV Station and the failure of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to make bulk power available for evacuation in the area.
A reliable source in the council said the situation had brought untold hardship to the residents of the area as all the small businesses had folded up.
It was gathered that all major industries situated in the areas had relocated, while others such as Oluwa Glass Industry, Okitipupa Oil Palm Mill and NTA Channel 26, which tried to manage, had all collapsed.
Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa recently announced that the state had issued an interim Independent Electricity Distribution License to Anyingba Independent Electricity Distribution Company to operate in the Southern Senatorial District, covering Ese-Odo, Irele, Okitipupa and Ilaje. He said this would enhance electricity distribution and service quality to the people of the councils.
Also, the people of Ehugbo in Afikpo LGA of Ebonyi State have continued to lament over the untold hardship, the crippling of their businesses, mass exodus from the community and insecurity among others as a result of the non-availability of electricity in the area for more than 11 years.
They blamed successive governments in the state for the continued outage. Recently, the commissioner for Power, Mr Peter Ogeali, and the lawmaker representing Afikpo East State Constituency, Hon Ukie Ezeali, engaged in a verbal war over the N208 million emergency funds approved by the administration of Governor Francis Nwifuru for the rehabilitation and restoration of power in the second largest city in the state.
While Ukie Ezeali accused the commissioner and the ministry of doing shoddy and substandard jobs, Ogeali alleged that the lawmaker was simply on a vendetta because of his (Ogeali’s) refusal to award the contract to him (Ezeali).
Several months after the release of the funds to the ministry and subsequent procurement of both transformers, armoured cables and other facilities for the restoration of the light, there is no solution in sight in the area which has 11 autonomous communities.
LEADERSHIP Sunday gathered that Afikpo was first electrified 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 search for a lasting solution to the power problem in Afikpo and other parts of Ebonyi South Senatorial Zone, the then senator representing the area, Anyim Ude, attracted a 133KVA substation to Amasiri, a suburb of Afikpo town in 2011.
Regrettably, since 2011, work has progressed at a snail-speed in the substation which has been attributed to lack of funds.
In Delta State, Ndokwa West local government area, especially Onicha Ukwuani and other communities have been in total darkness for over 20 years.
Recently, Chief Emeke Ochonogor provided electricity for five quarters – Amoji, Eweshi, Ibabu, Ike- Onicha and Ugiliamai in the entire council and a chieftaincy title was conferred on him as the “Omemma 1 of Onicha Ukwuani” for that singular act of kindness.
The prime minister of the five quarters, the Onotu-Uku of Onicha, Chief George Ogwu and the president-general, Onicha-Ukwuani Youth, Comrade Ambrose Enuma, revealed that the communities deemed it necessary to honour Ochonoghor for his humanitarian gesture, especially electrifying the communities which have been in darkness for over 20 years.
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