Ijebu Waterside Club (IWC) has made an urgent appeal to the Federal Government, echoing the Save Our Soul (SOS) plea from Ogun Waterside Local Government Area (OWLGA) due to an ongoing electricity crisis lasting seven years.
Comprised of seasoned businessmen and professionals from the Ogun Waterside region, the IWC, led by its president, Ahmed Tijani, held a meeting with Senator Gbenga Daniel on Monday.
Senator Daniel represents the Ijebu East Senatorial Constituency, which includes OWLGA. Their discussion centered on the crippling electricity problem that has severely hindered the socio-economic growth of this agro-industrial hub located in Ogun State.
Tijani, highlighting the persistent neglect of OWLGA, drew attention to several abandoned government projects. These include the OK LNG, the Deep Sea Port, Laogo Resort, Gateway Industrial and Petro-Gas Institute (GIPI) in Oni, Iwopin Paper Mill, and a road contract connecting Efire and Ayede-Ayila to Ondo State. The value of this road contract, awarded during Kemi Adeosun’s tenure as finance minister, exceeds N14 billion.
Others include oil and gas-related projects that if implemented, would promote job creation, boost the government’s revenue earnings and foster overall economic growth across Ogun Waterside, Ogun State and Nigeria.
According to IWC, the Nigeria Electricity and Gas Improvement Project (NIGEP), a World Bank-backed project in partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria, that was planned to bring succour to the people has also been abandoned, a development that further worsened the crisis in OWLGA.
In 2010, the NIGEP offered a big ray of hope when the Federal Government completed works on the Omotosho 2x150MVA, 330kv power plant, and a proposal was made to construct a 2x150MVA, 330/132kv substation at the power plant and utilise the outgoing 132kv lines to feed neighbouring areas of the power plant.
The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and the World Bank, subsequently decided that the proposed Omotosho-Agodo substation, a 45-kilometre 132kv double-circuit line project, would be executed to serve the people of OWLGA.
The IWC president said that the World Bank-backed electricity project has remained abandoned as funds were not made available to pay compensation to affected stakeholders.
“I also want to thank you for giving us this unique opportunity to meet with you at a very short notice. IWC cherish your simplicity, humility, tenacity and open door policies, a complete Omoluabi virtue,” Tijani told Daniel.
“Over the last 41 years of the existence of IWC”, the club’s president further said, “we have met and interacted with all past Governors of Ogun State right from the time of late Lt. Col. Oladipo Diya (General Diya), except your successor who failed to meet with us throughout his eight years, and of course all our efforts to also meet with the incumbent in the last four years have also not yielded any result.”
While speaking on the neglected GIPI in Oni, he told the senator that, “we had always advocated for the establishment of a higher institution in our Local Government. We were therefore happy when you established during your tenure as our Governor the Gateway Industrial and Petro-Gas Institute (GIPI) to produce middle-level manpower for anticipated projects in the OK FTZ and other Free Trade Zones in Ogun State. But today, the Institute needs help. It is your baby and we trust you will not allow it to die.”
According to the IWC president, “information available to us is that when the location suitable for Deep Sea Port operations was discovered after the geophysical-c*m-topographical studies were undertaken many years ago, the physical stretch involved showed that 15% of it belongs to Lagos State, 50% falls within Ogun Waterside seashore in Ogun State, and 35% falls within Ondo State from Ogun State border. Unfortunately, nothing has been done and Lagos State, whose portion is marginal, is already working on her Deep Sea Port project. All these projects are capable of generating thousands of jobs and contributing in no small way to the revenue of the State.”
While responding to the IWC delegation, Daniel, a former governor of Ogun State, expressed his deepest empathy for the people, noting that the electricity crisis of over seven years was unfortunate.
While lauding the visit by IWC as a patriotic cause, he also added that effort being made by the group for the welfare of the people of Ogun Waterside, “must be commended.”
According to him, “Don’t get tired or frustrated because all you are doing, and what all of us are doing, are for the benefit of our children.”
Senator Daniel, having received comprehensive briefing documents from the IWC delegation, pledged to collaborate personally with stakeholders throughout all levels of the Nigerian government. His aim is to highlight the urgent concerns of the Ijebu Waterside region and bring them to the attention of the appropriate authorities for swift and decisive action.
