By Sixtus Uket (Calabar)
The Senator representing Cross River Northern Senatorial District, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, has concluded plans to restore electric power supply to Bekwarra Local Government Area, six years after the area was plunged into total blackout.
The electricity power when completed will enhance socio-economic activities that had eluded the area in the last six years due to the prolonged blackout.
Already, contractors have been mobilized to site for the planting of over 60 electric poles for the mounting of several rolls of aluminum conductors stretching from Gakem, Nyanya through Vandekia to Makurdi in Benue state to reconnect the area to the national grid.
Conducting journalists on an inspection tour of the project, an official of the Jos Electricity Distribution Company which oversees Benue where the line is expected to be linked to the grid revealed that needed materials and equipment including transformers have been provided to ensure speedy completion of the project.
The Jos Electricity Distribution Company official further disclosed that the project is under the purview of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs.
He implored members of the benefiting communities to ensure adequate security of the facilities to guard against vandalisation by criminals and other unscrupulous elements in the society.
The Paramount Ruler of Bekwarra, HRH Linus Odey, had at different fora appealed to the government to restore public power to the local government area, lamenting that the absence of electricity has stagnated economic growth, commerce, and prosperity despite the abundance of natural endowments.
The project has also brought joy to the people of Bekwarra Local Government Area.
Speaking in Gakem, the historic town where the first gunshot signaling the commencement of the Nigerian civil war was fired, a community leader, Chief Odey Simon lauded Senator Jarigbe for the gesture.
Chief Simon noted that, the development will resuscitate commercial activities which have been in the lull for several years due to lack of public power supply in Bekwara and most parts of Cross River Northern Senatorial District.
“This singular intervention from our Senator is one of the best things he has done given the multiplier effect this is bound to usher into our locality.
“The passion and commitment demonstrated by Senator Jarigbe towards the betterment of our people in Cross River North is unprecedented despite his short stint as our Senator. We remain ever grateful and appreciative of this humane disposition,” he added.
Also speaking in Aboucheche, the headquarters of Bekwara Local Government Area, a youth activist, Agan Sunday, expressed delight at the intervention, describing it as answer to prayers.
“We have been groping in darkness for several years now having been disconnected from the national grid courtesy of the ill-fated State Government Independent Power Plant in Obudu which did not last for six months after taking off in 2016. Vandals capitalized on the prolonged blackout and vandalized the line from here to Benue, thereby prolonging our miseries. Our Senator Jarigbe has done what Napoleon could not do,” Sunday stated.
