Obaseki Offsets N10m Debt to BEDC by Ibiwe Community, Restores Light After 2 Years

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has cleared a N10m debt owed Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) by Ibiwe, Obhakhavbaye, and other communities to facilitate the reconnection of the communities to the national grid after being cut off for over two years.

Speaking on the matter, Chief B.O.B. Edogun, the Edogun of Benin Kingdom, said, “First and foremost, we want to thank the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki for his intervention. We have been in darkness for over two years. Though we had a transformer, it broke down as a result of power overload and we have been repairing it over the years.”

He further noted, “We continued our meeting with BEDC to see how we can work things out. Finally, the governor did us a favour and paid the sum of N10 million to the community to help. A day before the February 25th election, the light was switched on and that is how it has been ever since. We have been having constant light. We want to thank the Edo State governor for the show of love to the Ibiwe Community.”

Also, Rev. Dr. Angel Osa Oke, the Ogaevbo of Ibiwe Community, while appreciating Governor Obaseki said, “The N10 million paid by the governor enabled BEDC to restore our light fully. We thanked him and because of that, we gave him a new name. We gave him a new name because of what we have seen him do so far. Recently, there has been light everywhere. Anywhere he goes, light comes. So, his new name is: light has come.”

Also full of gratitude to the Edo State governor is Okunbor Theodore, a resident in the area, who noted that “for two years, we didn’t have light at all. Governor Obaseki is a listening governor. We decided to approach him. Through his representative, he promised that the Edo State Government will fix the light before the February 25th election and it was done.”