Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, yesterday held a town hall meeting with residents of South Senatorial District over a 10-year blackout in the area.
The two-part meeting, which was part of efforts to end the blackout, first held at the Williams Hall in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area.
It later moved to Okitipupa, where the governor met with the residents and the contractors handling electricity project.
At Igbokoda, various groups, including youths, women and community leaders, spoke about the hardship they had been experiencing due to the prolonged blackout.
The Executive Director of Engineering and Technical Services in Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPC), Ife Oyedele, lauded the efforts of the Federal Government and Akeredolu, which he said resulted in mobilising the contractors to site.
The people unanimously urged the governor to help them restore power supply to their communities.
They regretted the eight years of neglect by the previous administration, saying this informed their determination to stage peaceful protests until their requests were met.
Akeredolu, who addressed a group of protesting youths at the venue, said his administration was determined to ensure that the power supply problems of the area were resolved.
The governor allayed the fears of the youths, urging the people to cooperate with the contractors handling the electrification projects.
He said: “Let me appeal to the youths. I appreciate your concerns because they are genuine. But I come to you with genuine intention to put a permanent end to the blackout. I beg our fathers to appeal to the youths to let the contractors do their job and ensure that the timeline for the project is maintained.”
Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi described the meeting as a unique opportunity to end the more than 10 years of suffering of the people.
He urged the residents to cooperate with the contractors.
The projects were among the three-layer intervention of the Akeredolu administration, which includes solar stands for homes and national grid extension by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company of Nigeria.
At Aboto, where the governor mounted a solar stand, he urged the residents to protect it and maximise its use for their power consumption.