The people of Isiokpo in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State trouped out in their numbers on Saturday to celebrate the restoration of electricity to their communities by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
Isiokpo was agog as members of the communities staged a festive rally on the major roads to thank the NDDC for re-connecting them to public power supply after two and half years of power outage from the national grid.
Speaking on behalf of the community, Egr. John Tasie, a retired civil servant, commended the NDDC Acting Managing Director, Prof Nelson Brambaifa and the Acting Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Dr. Chris Amadi, for fulfilling the promise they made to the people of Isiokpo to give them electricity.
Tasie also applauded the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for making deliberate efforts to develop the Niger Delta, acknowledging that the impact of NDDC was being felt in the region. He said: “It is heart-warming that Isiokpo and other communities in Ikwerre kingdom can now enjoy stable electricity, courtesy of the NDDC.”
“There is no better way to demonstrate our feelings and gratitude to NDDC than by a public rally like this which also coincides with our annual wrestling festival.”
The crowd of community leaders, youths and women moved round the town singing songs of joy and displaying placards with different messages. Some of them read: “President Buhari, Ikwerres are happy with you and NDDC; ‘Thank you Nelson Brambaifa and Dr Chris Amadi –AKA Light;’ ‘Thank you NDDC for re-kindling our hope.”
Another appreciative member of the Isiokpo community, Mr Peter Madume, said that the people were jubilant because NDDC had once again opened new opportunities for them through the electricity project.
“Our businesses which were crippled by non-availability of electricity can now bounce back with this new development,” he said.
One of the opinion leaders in Isiokpo, Mr Chidi Robinson, assured that the communities would guard the power infrastructure jealously, stating that the youths would protect the power installations from vandals and thieves.
Robinson expressed delight that the agony of the people from many years without electricity was now over and thanked President Buhari for appointing the current executive management of the NDDC.
It could be recalled that the NDDC Chief Executive Officer, Brambaifa and the Acting Executive Director Finance and Administration, Amadi, had visited Isiokpo previously and promised to end their suffering on account of lack of electricity.
The NDDC boss had described the absence of public power supply for over two years as “anomalous and absurd,” stating that the situation needed to be corrected urgently.
He said that the project which covered the Ikwerre Local Government Area would be used as a pilot scheme that would eventually cover all the other distressed areas in the Niger Delta region.