On the 10th of March 2022, the Deputy Governor of Ogun State; Mrs Noimot Salako Oyedele, the First Lady; Mrs Bamidele Abiodun, and the Paramount ruler of Remo Land; Oba Babatunde Ajayi, among other dignitaries, attended the commissioning of a N50m rural electrification project in Orile Oko, Remo LGA. However, at the event, the transformers refused to come on. Essentially, the ceremony was a disaster as the reason for the gathering failed to materialize.
The project was supposed to provide electricity for over 15,000 people across 30 communities and bring an end to their 15-year sojourn in darkness. In 2004, the former governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba, powered Orile Oko. However, the transformers broke down three years later, and the communities could not afford to repair the damage, which cost over N15 million.
The people of Orile-oko are predominantly farmers that supply food to the rest of Ogun state. However, the lack of electricity hampered economic activities in the community as they could not preserve their crops after harvest. This caused them to sell their food crops at low prices to avoid huge losses. There are also two water dams in Ishan-Araromi that have been sealed up due to the lack of electricity. This has affected the community’s access to a vast source of water that will benefit their farming activities.
“This problem of no light is really affecting us, especially farmers. When it is harvest time, we have to quickly sell the market at low prices because there is no way to keep them. This government have been using us to play concerning this light issue. It is our lives and businesses we are talking about. They should take us seriously.” Kunle, a farmer told Tracka.
However, in 2021, Hon Oriyomi Onanuga, the lawmaker representing Ikenne/Shagamu/Remo North Federal constituency, came to their rescue by nominating a N50 million electrification project (2021ZIP1874) to power Orile-oko and its surrounding communities.
The project was domiciled under the Ministry of Women Affairs and the National Centre for Women Development. This was the notable beginning of everything that went wrong in the execution of the project.
The incapability of Assigned Agencies to Execute Projects
Public projects are domiciled in agencies whose mandates are not relevant to the execution of such projects has become a norm in the national budget. These agencies do not have the requisite knowledge and capacity to deliver in most cases.
The National Centre for Women Development’s constitutional mandate is ‘Gender Training and Capacity Building, Research, and Documentation to address the concerns of Nigerian Women’, but they have been saddled with an electrification project outside their jurisdiction.
When issues like these occur, the agency is incapable of performing oversight and evaluation functions which are crucial to the functionality and sustainability of the projects. This also played out in the implementation of this project.
Tracka spoke with Oloye Adeshina Oladiran, Baale of Ishan-Araromi, the main town in the Orile-oko community, who explained the issues the communities had with the contractor.
“They awarded the contract to a company based in Abuja that did not conduct any visit to Orile-oko before embarking on the project while discarding the contractors that actually visited us and understood the problems of the community.” he said.
The residents further complained that the transformers were only connected to the national grid but failed to be connected to the communities, so there was no way they could benefit from the project. When they confronted the contractor, he claimed his job was to power only the transformer and the high-tension wires. The communities have to connect their poles to the high-tension wires themselves.
Allegation of Corruption and Diversion of Public Funds
The Orile-oko community alleged that the contractor only purchased one transformer and refurbished the remaining two previously in Ishan-Araromi, making it seem to the public that three transformers were purchased. The Baale also reiterated this when we spoke with him.
“They tested some existing transformers, painted them and only supplied one transformer to Atoba community. Even the electric poles they mounted already collapsed a few days before the commissioning.” he said.
When we called the contractor Messrs Nonsdale Nig. Ltd, their representative, Engr. Onyeama, he said the company was only required to purchase one transformer and refurbish the others, which they did. They had to ensure over 15km of the community was connected, and the resources they worked with – N49m – was lean.
What Next?
The contractor has promised to fix the issues within one week, but the community members say if the problem is not addressed, the matter will be taken to the court and ICPC. BudgIT will also write to the Ministry of Women Affairs and the National Centre for Women Development to release the contract details containing the project specifications and financials.
We call on the Governor of Ogun State, H.E Dapo Abiodun, lawmaker representing Ikenne/Shagamu/Remo North constituency, Honourable Oriyomi Onanuga, the local government chairman, Prince Odunsi Adedapo, and other relevant stakeholders to address this issue to ensure the residents of Orile-oko benefit from this project.
Public funds must work for the people.
Story by Ayomide Ladipo and Joshua Osiyemi
