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Claim: Oye-Ekiti now enjoys an uninterrupted power supply.
Verdict: False. While there has been an improvement in the electricity supply at Oye-Ekiti recently, residents are not experiencing the claimed uninterrupted supply.
Full Text
Oye-Ekiti, home to Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Ekiti State, has grappled with persistent power challenges. In 2019, the community’s predominant residents, university students, voiced their discontent through a protest, escalating into violence and tragically claiming the lives of two students.
In a recent announcement, “FUOYE Campus Connect” tweeted about a transformation in Oye-Ekiti’s electricity supply, claiming that the community now gets a continuous uninterrupted power flow.
“Wow! Light every day now in Oye-Ekiti. The state of electricity in Ekiti is now better. If you’re yet to resume because of light, you can do so now. We now enjoy an uninterrupted electricity supply with an incredible network. What we need the govt of Ekiti to do now is our roads,” the tweet read.
Given the unfortunate events of 2019 and the doubts raised in the comments, DUBAWA opted to verify the accuracy of this assertion.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted telephone interviews with residents and workers in six prominent Oye-Ekiti areas: School Road, School Junction, Irona, Mini Campus, Irare, and Idofin. The interviewees, comprising business owners and students, acknowledged a positive shift in the power supply but uniformly refuted assertions of a continuous “24-hour” availability.
Offering insights, Precious Samuel, a 400-level student studying Educational Management at FUOYE, clarified that while there has been a noticeable improvement in Oye-Ekiti’s power supply, it falls short of being consistently available.
“The thing is, there will be a certain stage where you don’t enjoy something, and when it comes to little, it will be like the best. That’s what is just happening in Oye,” he started.
“There’s been light on some days. Recently, there was light yesterday, but it didn’t even last long and was low.”
Mr Samuel, who resides in Idofin, acknowledged the common power shortages in Oye-Ekiti. The recent subtle enhancement is now recognised as a stride towards an uninterrupted electricity supply, signifying a notable departure from the usual state of affairs.
“I’m not sure anytime they bring light, it has stayed for 24hrs or even half a day,” he noted.
Okeke Salvation manages a telephone charging business on School Road but resides at Mini Campus. He dismissed the prevailing assertion as pure fantasy, highlighting that the recent power supply improvements did not even reach his area at Mini Campus.
“Who is in charge of such fantasies?” he asked.
“Maybe in the future. Last time I checked, we only had light yesterday, but Ilé Jesu Oseun still suffered blackouts as usual.”
In contrast, Silas Ayeni, a 300-level English and Literary studies student residing in Irona, affirmed a sporadic power supply pattern, with intermittent availability on certain days. He mentioned the longest continuous supply lasting 12 hours. However, he raised concerns about frequent occurrences of low current.
“The light has been great for the past weeks, although not uninterrupted. The light exceeds 12 hours at times. It’s just that sometimes the current might be low. But compared to previous months, it’s way better,” Mr Ayeni told DUBAWA.
Supporting Ayeni’s account, another student, Oluwadarasimi Agboola, echoed the improvement in the power supply at Irare, where she resides. She mentioned that the prolonged periods without power had reduced to a more structured pattern, describing it as “one-day-on, one-day-off.”
Similarly, Aisha Adeoye, a vendor selling soft drinks at School Junction, affirmed that there has been a modest improvement in the electricity supply.
“But they don’t bring it during the day when it is mostly needed,” she complained.
On Nov 20th, 2023, this fact-checker visited Oye-Ekiti and substantiated the statements made by the interviewees during his 24-hour stay in the town. Although locations like School Junction, School Road, and Faalex experienced power supply, it was limited to a three-hour window from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Notably, while power was available elsewhere, the Mini Campus area suffered from low current.
Residents in this community, however, expressed gratitude for the improvement, recalling times when there would be no power supply for a continuous two-week period.
Conclusion
Our findings indicated that while there has been a notable improvement in Oye-Ekiti’s power supply, residents still do not experience constant electricity. Additionally, certain areas within the town continue to face challenges with low current.
