The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Ministry of Power or its agency to set machinery in motion to commence the building of Sapele Power Station step down to connect the host communities of the Ogorode Sapele Power Plant to the national grid, noting that there is growing mass actions to shut down the power station.
Debating the motion, the member representing Okpẹ, Sapele and Uvwie federal constituency, Rep. Oberuakpefe Anthony Afe, said the growing mass actions being fuelled by lingering blackout portend a major disaster waiting to happen as the hopeless state of the people has hardened their determination to shut down the Sapele Power Station any time unless the Federal Government pays immediate attention to their plight by constructing a Step-Down Transformer that would supply electricity to the communities.
The House noted that the primary responsibilities of any government are to protect lives, properties and take care of the welfare of all persons in the country irrespective of location, tribe, religion, sex etc.
The House also noted that the Ogorode Sapele Power Plant is said to be the second biggest Power Plant in Nigeria by installed capacity of 1,020, Megawatts when it was commissioned in 1981, but sadly it is only producing less than 200 Megawatts currently.
Aware that the lengthy epileptic power supply being suffered by the people of Sapele and other host communities such as Amukpe, Orevokpe, Oghara, Mosogur, Eku, Kokori and Okprara, Agbor, Asaba, Effurun, Abraka, Osubi and others from the two Power Stations is owing to the fact that they supply electricity to other parts of the country thus leaving the host communities to live in perpetual darkness, a scenario that is not only offensive to the people of Sapele Local Government and the host communities;
Also aware that the growing mass actions being fuelled by lingering blackout portend a major disaster waiting to happen as the hopeless state of the people has hardened their determination to shut down Sapele Power Station any time unless the Federal Government pays immediate attention to their plight by constructing a Step-Down Transformer that would supply electricity to the communities;
Saddened that Sapele Power Station, which supplies about 25 percent of the country is generating capacity, all of which goes into the National Grid, is the only location in the entire country where the power generated is not being stepped down for use by the host communities like in all other locations like Jebba, Kainji, Shiroro, Ughelli and Afan which enjoy step down facilities for the host communities;
Worried that the atmosphere of near-total darkness on a daily basis is affecting the socio-economic development of the area, resulting into colossal collapse of the once prestigious African Timbers and Plywood (AT&P), flour mills and other famous institutions that made Sapele thick thereby making it a case of the proverbial people who live by the river bank, yet wash their hands with spittle;
Convinced that connecting the Sapele Power to the Plant National Grid will among other things provide constant power supply to the host communities will also boost socio-economic activities and create a harmonious peaceful co-existence between the host communities and the Management of the Power Station;
It therefore, resolved to urge the Federal Ministry of Power and the Agency responsible to set machinery in motion to commence the building of Sapele Power Station step down to supply electricity to the host communities.
Rep. Afe moved the motion calling on the federal ministry of power or its agency to connect the host communities of Ogorode Sapele power plant to the national grid and it was seconded by Rep. Zakarya Nyampa. The motion was voted on and adopted.