The residents of Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State have decried the despicable situation of electricity supply in the area.

In different chats with Kristina Reports in Okrika, some of the residents expressed their plight, narrating how the intermittent and sometimes, outright blackout is negatively affecting their daily lives and businesses.

One of the residents, Barnabas Manugbor explained that a good light situation helps economic activities to thrive but the people are being deprived of such benefits thus making them handicapped.

“With the economy we are facing now, light is what we mostly used to cook, we can’t get fuel because of its exorbitant rate. There is no kerosene to put in our stoves, and it’s also difficult to get gas to cook.”

“Besides, not everybody has the effrontery to take up the rigorous task of going to the bush to fetch firewood, and again, in this rainy season, you can’t get a dried wood for cooking.”

Manugbor also said that the situation is taking a toll on the masses because money that should have been used for other tangible things is diverted into purchase of petrol for cooking.

“Money we can use to pay school fees, house and shop rents is being used for petrol, not to talk of recharging decoders to use. By the time you will realise it, it must have expired without you enjoying it and the money is just a waste.”

Reacting also, Charles Bestman, who resides inside the Okrika Grammar School compound, asserted that the Okrika Local Government Council Secretariat has one of the poorest lighting systems in the state.

“Go to other local governments, you won’t see a local government without light at a point for one day. Here in Okrika, the entire Local Government, you won’t see light anywhere.”

Bestman, who said he is a sales representative of an undisclosed company, revealed that he uses gadgets to work but over the weeks, he has been losing clients because there is no light.

He also said that the poor situation of light has made people to limit their movements to occasions because of lack of electricity to iron their clothes. 

“We need light for our personal improvement, we need lights for our research but there’s no light”

Speaking with one of the community leaders, who pleaded anonymity, he asserted that the officials of PHED had disclosed that the problem was because Okrika was yet to be connected to the national grid.

Kristina Reports was unable to verify this claim as at the time of this report as enquiries to the Okrika Local Government, Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) and the Federal Ministry of Power were yet unreplied.

 “Okrika, by UN standard, is a metropolis, it is therefore an anomaly that the entire community will not have light.”

“If I can’t get light from Ogbogbo, there should be light in Ibaka, there should be light in Isaka, that’s how it should be done. This is a local government not a town where everybody will not have light.”

Speaking, a patient at the General Hospital, Okrika, who preferred anonymity, revealed that it is a rather appalling situation that close to a month, there has been no light.

“I am just coming from the hospital, the generator was on, everywhere in the wards all the sockets were filled with extensions and gadgets to be charged.”

“With this, people can die because there is no light to carry out operation, even phone torchlight cannot be used because the phones are off.”

“Now, they just brought the light, they have sent NEPA bill to us. We can’t continue like this, if something is spoilt, they should rectify it as soon as possible, and not keeping everybody in darkness.”

Still speaking, Manugbor said that appeals have been made to the local government authorities to intervene.

“They were talking about the grid system of lighting, let them introduce it here, where you say at this point, you receive 9 hours power supply per day, if it’s 12 hours, let’s get the 12 hours.