24 July 2014, Lagos – Residents of Ejigbo community, in the Ejigbo Local Council Development Area of Lagos State are still bemoaning the death of a man and the loss of their valuables as a result of a power surge that ravaged some households in the community.
It was gathered that the incident, which occurred on Tuesday night, was caused by a high tension wire, laden with electric current, which fell on a low tension wire. It led the power surge, which also resulted in fire outbreaks in many households.
PUNCH Metro observed during a visit to the community on Wednesday that most of the electric poles in the community are wooden poles as against the standard concrete poles. Most of the wooden poles are old and are beginning to bend, making the wire on them to sag.
A leader in the community, Mr. Jolaosho Taofeek, lamented that the attention of the Ikeja Distribution Company had been drawn to the state of electric poles in the community, adding that the community had yet to hear from them.
“This incident is as a result of negligence on the part of the IKEDC. We had expected that with the unbundling of the PHCN, the new people will be alive to their responsibilities. We had drawn their attention to the poor state of the electric poles in this community. The poles are wooden and substandard and the wires on them usually fall off.
“Most of the wires were provided by the residents. The implication now is that because community effort cannot suffice, wires that are supposed to serve two or three households would end up serving about 10 to 15 households. People connect electricity to their houses directly from the poles and the IKEDC officials see this and do nothing about it.
“What happened was unfortunate but it could have been prevented. We are calling on the Lagos State Government to assist the victims and for the IKEDC to wake up to its responsibility,” he said.
It was also gathered that the resident that died was electrocuted as he was attempting to disconnect his room from the electric meter.
The victim, whose name was not available as of the time of going to the press, was buried on Wednesday. It was learnt that his immediate family members had left the house and were not available for comments.
A trader who deals in frozen foods, identified simply as Usman, claimed that all the frozen poultry products were damaged, while her refrigerators were destroyed.
She said, “My business has been badly affected. It is as if I am starting afresh.”
The IKEDC Public Relations Officer, Pekun Adeyanju, said, “We have asked the business manager to send us a comprehensive report of what happened,” he said.
– The Punch