Residents of Bodija and adjacent communities in Ibadan, Oyo State have issued an urgent distress call to the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, demanding immediate intervention to end a crippling electricity crisis that has lasted for over five years.
The Bodija Estate Residents Association (BERA) is imploring the Federal Government to expedite the installation of a new 100 MVA power transformer, which they say has already been delivered to the site by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), to replace a severely overloaded 40 MVA unit. The prolonged power shortage is attributed to the inadequate infrastructure, which cannot handle the growing energy demands of the expansive area, impacting communities like Old and New Bodija, Basorun, Iwo Road, Oje, and Mokola.
The appeal underscores the widespread frustration over poor service delivery despite Nigeria’s recent electricity tariff hike and reclassification exercise. BERA President, Pastor Muyiwa Bamgbose, lamented that the community, initially placed in Band A—a category guaranteeing a minimum of 20 hours of daily supply—never enjoyed the stipulated service despite paying the associated higher tariffs.
Following the federal government’s tariff review in April 2024, the area was downgraded to Band B, promising a minimum of 16 hours of daily supply. However, residents insist that this new, lower target is also not being met, leading to business disruptions and a significant decline in the quality of life. The residents feel they are enduring a crisis of unfulfilled promises while being forced to bear increasing financial costs.
The systemic challenge hinges on a bottleneck at the transmission level. Industry sources confirmed that the current 40 MVA transformer, managed by TCN, is grossly insufficient for the urbanised and expanding population.
The deployment and eventual commissioning of the new 100 MVA transformer are seen as the critical solution to restoring stable electricity supply. BERA has set an unofficial deadline of December 2025 for the government to make the new equipment operational, arguing that the delay in installation despite the equipment’s presence on the ground is a failure of execution and governmental priority.
