Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — Electricity has been restored to Bende Federal Constituency in Abia State after 23 years, as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, commissioned a rehabilitated power line reconnecting the communities to Nigeria’s national grid.
The project, commissioned on Tuesday restores supply to Uzuakoli and Ozuitem, two major towns that have relied on generators and solar alternatives since 2002, a situation that severely constrained economic activities and local enterprise.
Speaking at the commissioning ceremony, Kalu described the reconnection as a turning point for the constituency’s economic revival, noting that years of failed interventions had kept businesses in prolonged stagnation.
“We thank God for this worthy development. Darkness has vanished in Bende,” Kalu said.
“In the last 24 years, it’s been either solar or a generator. I have tried in the past to make this happen, unfortunately it failed. This time, I insisted it must work, even though it cost us so much.”
He said the return of grid power would significantly reduce energy costs for households and businesses, creating room for growth in local manufacturing, agro-processing and services.
“This will revive small-scale businesses in Bende. Cottage industries and factories will also spring up,” the Deputy Speaker added.
Kalu stressed that reliable electricity is central to job creation and economic competitiveness, urging residents to see the project as a shared asset that must be protected.
“This infrastructure belongs to the people. Vandalism will not be tolerated,” he warned.
He called on traditional rulers, Presidents-General of autonomous communities and youths to establish local vigilante arrangements to safeguard the power facilities and ensure uninterrupted supply.
The restoration of electricity is expected to improve living standards, attract private investment and reposition Bende as a viable destination for small and medium-scale industrial activity, ending more than two decades of energy deprivation that stifled economic development in the area.
