By Our Reporter
For over five years, residents of Usung Esuk Odot in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State have been without electricity following the vandalisation of a transformer installed in the community by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The situation was further compounded when the community’s electricity supply from the Calabar-Itu-Ikot Ekpene Highway high-tension line was disconnected during the initial construction works on the highway.
Since then, residents have endured prolonged darkness, with its attendant social and economic consequences.
Speaking during a media briefing in Calabar recently, two community leaders, Pastor Bassey Ita and Prince Bassey Itam, jointly appealed to the state government to intervene by replacing the vandalised transformer and providing the necessary ancillary infrastructure to restore electricity to the community.
They described Usung Esuk Odot as a sprawling commercial and leisure hub within Odukpani Local Government Area, noting that the restoration of electricity would improve the livelihood of residents, stimulate economic activities and strengthen public confidence in the administration’s People First mantra.
“As sons of Usung Esuk Odot, a community with a population of over 3,000 people, we appeal to His Excellency, our dear Governor, to demonstrate his People First disposition by intervening in the plight of our community,” they stated.
The community leaders lamented that the prolonged blackout had inflicted considerable hardship and economic losses on residents over the past five years.
They also expressed concern over the security implications of the situation, recalling incidents in which the community had been exposed to the activities of suspected trespassers and land grabbers who allegedly took advantage of the darkness.
According to them, the absence of electricity has also undermined the economic prospects of many enterprising youths whose daily businesses and sources of income depend substantially on regular power supply.
They recalled that the transformer was vandalised after the community had endured prolonged darkness occasioned by the highway maintenance and construction works, during which the connecting cables from the high-tension line were brought down.
The community leaders said their appeal had become particularly urgent in view of the ongoing electricity interventions in neighbouring communities within the local government area.
“We strongly appeal to His Excellency to act now, especially as elections are fast approaching. Such an intervention will add value to our community and reassure our people that they have not been neglected, particularly when adjoining communities are receiving similar attention,” they added.
It would be recalled that only recently, the Cross River State Government fulfilled an earlier promise to intervene in the provision of electricity to some communities in Odukpani Local Government Area as part of efforts to improve residents’ welfare and stimulate commercial activities
