From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
Residents of Acha axis, off Emelogu Road, Ogbor Hill, Aba, Abia State have sent a Save Our Soul message to Prof. Barth Nnaji, founder of Geometric Power, owners of Aba Power Limited (APL) over power outage occasioned by faulty transformer that has put them in darkness for the past five months.
In the SOS signed by Chief Edede Ogbogu, chairman and Anozie Nwanyanwu, secretary,
Electricity Committee, Acha/Emelogu Road, the residents chronicled how for five months, they have not had electricity in their area.
They said sometime in October last year, power supply to the area went off as a result of faulty transformer.
The people said despite prompt report of the incident to Aba Power Limited (APL), it took the company two months to lift the transformer for repairs.
They said three months after the transformer was lifted for repairs, it was yet to be returned.
“We are writing to draw your attention to the treatment being meted out to us as electricity zone by the Operation and Maintenance Department of APL.
“They have refused to return our failed and repaired transformer for the past five months.We have made several appeals to the COO and HOD Maintenance but to no avail.
“Please we appeal for your quick intervention to save us from this continued total darkness since October 2023 to date, of which advantage the night marauders have capitalized on to terrorize us in the zone.”
In an interview, Ogbogu said the last time they met with officials of APL on the issue, they were told residents of the area were owing APL N40m and that the transformer could only be returned if they offset the said debt.
However, he said investigations he made indicated the said debt, was estimated bills the company raised in the first two months the transformer packed before it was lifted for repairs.
Ogbogu said after a while, officials of the company told him the transformer was ready and that the zone should make arrangement for a truck to carry it.
“We made the arrangement, only to be told the man who repaired the transformer for APL, one Mr. Philip, said he would not release the transformer until the company pays him for his work, which he allegedly claimed to run into millions of naira.
“That’s where we are now and I believe there is limit to what human beings could endure and that’s why we are appealing to Prof Nnaji to intervene and save us from the hellish condition we have found ourselves”, Ogbogu pleaded.
When contacted, Philip, the contractor who repaired the transformer said he had no business with anybody in the area except the company that gave him the job to do.
“My duty is to do the job, when the company that gave me the job deemed it fit to come and lift the transformer, they will do so if they have settled with me.”
When asked if APL has not paid for his services that has made to him keep the transformer for three months running, Philip repeated, “I don’t have any business with any individual, but the company and they are in a better position to know if they have paid me or not.”