Thousands of residents from 11 communities across Osogbo, the Osun State capital, besieged the regional office of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) on Wednesday to protest a persistent lack of power supply that they claim is crippling local businesses and compromising security.
The demonstrators, marching under the aegis of "United Communities", converged at the Oke-Baale roundabout before trekking nearly three kilometres to the IBEDC office on Station Road. Guarded by heavily armed security operatives, the protesters displayed placards with inscriptions such as "Our businesses are dying" and "IBEDC, you are wicked" while demanding an immediate return to "Band A" electricity classification.
The crisis reportedly escalated after the communities—including Oke-Baale, UNIOSUN axis, Air Force Base, and Owode Federal Housing Estate—were downgraded from Band A to Band C. While the new classification stipulates a minimum of 12 hours of power daily, residents allege they currently receive less than four hours, with many days passing in total darkness.
"The impact of this epileptic power supply has been devastating," said Mr Badmus Akeem, a leader of the protesters, during a formal presentation of their grievances. "Small-scale businesses are on the verge of collapse, and corporate institutions are significantly affected. Even the military and Air Force bases are in darkness, which is a direct threat to national security."
In a communiqué submitted to the distribution company, the group issued a seven-day ultimatum for the restoration of stable power. They warned that failure to comply would result in "lawful and collective actions", including the potential blockade of IBEDC personnel from accessing their communities for maintenance or billing.
Responding to the outcry, IBEDC Regional Manager, Ifeanyi Ikeji attributed the shortfall to a significant drop in national energy allocation. He explained that maintaining the communities on Band A would have been "unjust" because the company could not meet the 20-hour supply requirement due to generation constraints.
"I would like to sell in Band A because I am in business," Ikeji told the crowd. "But the power constraint we are having now will not enable me to do it. We are ready to return the communities to Band A, but we cannot rush that decision without first rectifying the inadequacy in power generation."