The Oyo State House of Assembly on Tuesday took a firm stand on the worsening electricity crisis in Ibarapaland, adopting a Motion and condemning the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu being son of the soil for what lawmakers described as gross incompetence that has made electricity supply across the region and indeed Oyo State as almost nonexistent.
The Motion was moved by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Adebo Ogundoyin and supported by member representing Ibarapa North/Central Constituency, Hon. Peter Ojedokun.
Reading the Motion on the floor of the House, Hon. Ojedokun decried the persistent and prolonged power outages affecting residents and businesses in Ibarapa East, Ibarapa North, and Ibarapa Central Local Government Areas.
He described the situation as “unacceptable, economically damaging, and socially disruptive,” noting that households and commercial activities have suffered massive losses due to the unreliable electricity supply.
He further urged that while the Motion highlights almost 15years of power outage in Ibarapaland, the resolutions of the House must also extend to other zones across Oyo State that are grappling with similar electricity challenges.
The Motion emphasized that the welfare of the entire state’s residents must be considered in any federal intervention.
Lawmakers on the floor joined the Speaker in expressing strong dissatisfaction with the performance of the Federal Ministry of Power under Prince Adelabu.
They accused him of failing to provide sustainable solutions, pointing out that years of poor leadership and lack of effective policy implementation have left many communities in near-complete darkness.
“The incompetence of the Minister has made power supply almost nonexistent in many parts of our state,” Hon. Gbenga Oyekola said.
“Families, students, traders, and small businesses are bearing the brunt of this failure, and it cannot continue.”
Several members highlighted the financial burden placed on citizens who are forced to rely on alternative sources of electricity, such as generators, while still paying inflated electricity bills for non-existent supply.
They stressed that the situation has stifled economic growth and disrupted educational activities, particularly in rural communities.
The House consequently resolved to urge the Executive Arm of Government through the Oyo State Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to engage the Federal Ministry of Power and other relevant federal agencies to demand the expedited completion and commissioning of the proposed substations in Ibarapaland.
Lawmakers in their contributions called on relevant federal agencies to urgently assess, rehabilitate and upgrade transmission and distribution infrastructure serving Ibarapa Zone, including feeders and transformers, to ensure stable and regular power supply.
The House further urged IBEDC to review its billing practices in the zone, and other areas in Oyo State, discontinue arbitrary and estimated billing where supply is non-existent, and ensure consumers are billed strictly for actual electricity consumed in line with extant regulations.
In addition, the Assembly called on the Federal Government, through the National Rural Electrification Board, to prioritize Ibarapa Zone in its rural electrification and grid expansion programmes, particularly communities that have remained in darkness for over a decade.
The Committee on Energy was mandated to interface with relevant state and federal authorities and report back to the House within four weeks on concrete steps taken to restore stable electricity supply to Ibarapaland.
The Speaker, Rt. Hon Ogundoyin in his comments reaffirmed the Assembly’s commitment to protecting the welfare of Oyo State residents, stressing that the Motion and the condemnations were not politically motivated but aimed at ensuring accountability and sustainable solutions to a crisis that has persisted for over a decade.