By Uche Amunike
A fierce rainstorm said to have lasted over an hour and thirty minutes, unleashed mayhem, Sunday, at Sango Ota, in Ado-Odo/Ora Local Government Area of Ogun State, throwing 40 communities into darkness, as it pulled down cables and electric poles in its wake, even as it disrupted traffic on the Sango Ota highway.
The incident was confirmed by the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), which appealed to residents to avoid having any contact with the broken poles, saggy wires, cables or any other electrical installation affected by the rain.
Speaking, to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Lead, Media Relations of IBEDC, Mrs Busolami Tunwase, while confirming the incident, stated that no lives were lost, however, properties estimated at over N100 million, especially vehicles, were destroyed by the heavy downpour.
The IBEDC released a public notice, where the communities affected were spelled out. It partly read: ‘Due to broken poles occasioned by the heavy downpour at Ota and Mowe, customers in the following communities: lyana lyesi, Osuke Town, Egan Road, lyana Ilogbo, Ijaba, Ijagba, Itele, Lafenwa, Singer, Joju, Alishiba, Oju Ore, Tollgate, Eledi, Akeja, Abebi, Osi Round About, Ota Town, Ota Industrial Estate, Igberen, lju, Atan, Onipanu, Obasanjo, Lusada, Arigba, Odugbe, Ado-Odo, Igbesa, Owode. Olokuta, Hanushi, Bamtish Camp Lufiwape, Eltees Farm, August Engineering, Spark Cear Soap Ayetoro, Amazing Grace Oil, Christopher University, Royal Garden Estate, Pentagon Estate and environs are experiencing power outages.’
According to the public notice, the other areas affected are: ‘Bamtish Camp Lufiwape, Eltees Farm, August Engineering, Spark Cear Soap Ayetoro, Amazing Grace Oil, Christopher University, Royal Garden Estate, Pentagon Estate, and environs.’
They reiterated that residents should keep away from trying to have the electrical installations repaired, as their technical team was already at work, to clear and replace all the affected poles and cables that were destroyed.
Hear them: ‘Kindly avoid contact with the broken poles, saggy wires or any other electrical installation affected by the rain. Report any incident and do not attempt to repair or tamper with electrical installations.’
‘Our technical team is working to clear and replace the broken poles and installations to ensure power supply is restored as soon as possible. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.‘
Reports and videos circulating online showed how the utility poles fell on top of vehicles, including a long school bus, trucks, cars and tricycle, all of them trapped under it. In the video clip, voices in the background were heard, complaining that all the utility poles had broken down as a result of pressure. Residents also showed their concerns that they would have to endure power outages in the next week or more, pending when the poles and cables have hopefully been fixed. They also expressed their joy that there was no power supply at the time the damages occurred. Residents of the affected areas in Sango Ota also complained earlier about low power supply in their area since January 2024.
