Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, on Wednesday flagged off the construction of work on 132/33 KV power substations in Ijesa Isu Ekiti and Ilupeju Ekiti.
The development sparked excitement in the two towns and raised hope of stable power supply in many towns in the state.
The Governor who expressed delight that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in 2020 resulted in commencement of work said the project was borne out of the collaboration of his administration with the Federal Government to solve the problem of epileptic power supply in the state.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi, the Governor who described the project as “another milestone in the quest to make life comfortable for our people” said his administration fulfilled some obligations before the project could see the light of the day.
The Minister of Power, Alhaji Abubakar Aliyu, commended the Fayemi Administration for its commitment to the realization of the project and collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Power to boost power supply to more communities in Ekiti State and stimulate social and economic development.
Traditional rulers, community leaders, interest groups, indigenes and residents of the communities expected to benefit from the projects when completed lauded both the federal and Ekiti State governments for investing in the project to boost their social and economic lives.
The project also incorporates the construction of Ikere (Ado Ekiti)-Ijesa Isu-Ilupeju 50 Kilometer 133 KV Double Circuit Transmission Line to widen access to regular and reliable public power supply when completed.
Dr Fayemi charged the contractor to on the need to ensure the construction of quality project saying “the people of the state are interested in early completion without compromising standards.”
The Governor also restated the commitment of his administration to the ongoing work on the Independent Power Project (IPP) aimed at boosting power supply to government offices and facilities in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, to generate additional 5 megawatts.
Dr. Fayemi listed some of the obligations fulfilled by his administration before the project could take off to include survey of the proposed line route, gazette of the line, issuance of the title documents for the land allocation of the substations, acquisition of the right of way, route topography survey, environmental impact assessment and ongoing construction of fence of the project sites.
He said: “Today’s groundbreaking event is to further reawaken the hope of our people, that both the federal and state governments are committed to improving the standard of living and welfare of the people. As I have said on many occasions, Ekiti people are the greatest assets we have and we cannot afford to fail them.
“As a government, we are also committed to the implementation of the Independent Power Project (IPP) which is aimed at generating 5 megawatts for use of government offices and facilities.
“The project which is a Public Private Partnership arrangement, upon completion will ensure adequate power supply to government offices and facilities, thereby increasing access to electric power by the public. The 5 megawatts hitherto supplied to the affected government premises from the national grid will he freed from the ise of the general public when the IPP is completed.”
The Minister of Power who was represented by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, TCN, Dr. Sule Abdulaziz, described the projects as strategic noting that it would have a massive impact on power transmission in Ekiti and its environs.
According to him “the projects are parts of many projects being undertaken by the TCN in pursuit of grid expansion programme in line with the mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari for extension of the power sector for sustainable development.”
The Minister noted that when the two power substations at Ijesa Isu and Ilupeju Ekiti are completed, they would relieve the one in Ado Ekiti of its load and bring better power supply to the hinterland on the state.
He said: “The TCN is executing various substation projects which are at various stages of completion. This is an indication that the Federal Government is not relenting in ensuring that the nation’s power sector receives the desired boost.”
The Minister assured that the Ministry of Power would monitor the timeline of the project as contracted while TCN engineered would ensure effective supervision of the project to ensure that there are no lapses.
The supervising Commissioner for Infrastructure and Public Utilities, Prof. Mobolaji Aluko, noted that the project, when completed, would complement plans of the state government to improve the quality of energy supply to all the 16 local government areas and 19 local council development areas.
Prof. Aluko stayed that the level of electricity to the state from the national grid is grossly inadequate when compared to the 150-200 megawatts estimated needs of the Ekiti population projected to be around 3.2 million hence the need for the project.
He explained that the need to improve the availability of electricity from the national grid has necessitated the partnership with Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to construct 132 KV double-circuit transmission lines from Ikere switching station and two associated substations at Ijesa Isu and Ilupeju.
The Chairman of the State Council of Obas and Onisan of Isan Ekiti, Oba Ayodele Adejuwon, hailed Governor Fayemi and the Federal Government for collaborating to bring the project to the state.
Oba Adejuwon who was represented by the Alaaye of Oke Ayedun, Oba Olufemi Aribisala, who described the power project as a “game changer” noted that energy supply has become a big issue in the country welcoming commencement of work on the project.
The Obanla of Ijesa Isu, Oba Oso Adeniyi, who expressed joy on the project said it would go a long way in reducing insecurity promising that the community which has taken the project as its own would do everything within the ambit of the law to protect the workers and equipment on the site.
The Regent of Ilupeju Ekiti, Princess Mojisade Oniyelu, said the social benefits of the projects are unquantifiable and enormous promising the readiness of the people to cooperate with workers to ensure timely delivery.
On hand to witness the groundbreaking are former Deputy Governor, Chief Paul Alabi; Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Funminiyi Afuye who was represented by the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Hakeem Jamiu; House Leader of Business, Hon. Gboyega Aribisogan; Chairman, Ikole Local Government, Hon. Sola Olominu; Chairman, Ikole West LCDA, Hon. Kayode Ogunsakin; Chairman, Ifeloju LCDA, Hon. Babatunde Ogunmilugba; former House of Representatives member, Hon. Bamidele Faparusi, among others.