The Bayelsa State Government on Saturday revealed that it has spent close to N1billion to restore power to the state since the destruction of some power facilities by suspected vandals.
Two transmission towers, T98 and T99, along the Ahoada/Yenagoa 132kV line in the Igbooghene community of the state, were destroyed by vandals according to the Transmission Company of Nigeria.
Since then, Yenagoa and its environs, which depends on the national grid, had been cut off from power supply for over two months.
The State Commissioner for Youth Development, Hon. Alfred Kemepado, who made the disclosure, said it is mischievous for anyone or group to think or insinuate that the government is not doing anything to salvage the situation.
Speaking on a radio program monitored in Yenagoa, the Commissioner said it is sad that mischievous elements will use the situation of power outage in the state to continue to run down the government.
While bemoaning the situation, Kemepado said: "It is very pathetic that we don't have light and people are suffering. It is very sad that the state is in darkness, but we are doing everything that we can to ensure that light is restored. It is saddest that people will sit down outside this state and treat us with some form of disrespect and instead of us to stand together and fight that disrespect, we also get lampooned by our people or get that disrespect reinforced from here."
He explained that the lingering power outage is not within the control of the government and that is why to avoid a repeat of future occurrence, the Senator Douye Diri administration has intensified efforts to ensure that the state has its own independent power.
He said: "Between now and the next one to two years, we are working to ensure we have our own independent power plant since the law has now been domesticated. You know Abia is enjoying something like that. The story that has not been told is that Abia State started her journey to achieving that during the President Goodluck Jonathan era.
"I want to appeal to all Bayelsans, we are not sleeping on this matter because if we have 24 hours power supply it will boost the economy of the state, it will make life easier for SMEs and all residents.
"The governor has even gone out of his way to spend close to a billion naira on this issue. In real developed climes, what we have spent should be discounted on electricity bills when the issue is finally fixed but they will not and that is one of the disrespect I am tal king about," he added.
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