Reps Member, Ibarapakan, Engages Okikiola (Tawa Vlog) on Light-up Ibarapa Activism

House of Representatives member, representing Ibarapa Central and North Federal Constituency, Hon. (Dr.) Anthony Adebayo Adepoju, has engaged a community activist on social media over their reservation on the prolonged power outage in Ibarapa axis of Oyo State.

The social media crusader is identified as Tawa Vlog on Facebook and Minister Ibi on TikTok, has in recent days, appealed to members of the political class and former political officeholders, calling for an immediate solution to the ugly development which has lasted over seven years in the five communities comprising Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North Local Government Areas of Oyo State, namely: Igboora, Idere, Ayete, Tapa and Igangan.

But, Adepoju, in a statement by his media aide, Hassan Adesodi Olaoniye, said he felt deeply responsible after his attention was drawn to several videos posted by the concerned constituent.

The lawmaker explained that the act prompted him to reach out to the individual in order to intimated of the efforts he had made so far concerning power supply in the constituency.

He added that he had gone through her modest campaign and acknowledged that every fortnight he visits home, he feels more pain seeing his community in darkness.

“I had moved for an investigative motion on the floor of the Nigerian House of Representatives in October 2023, which aimed to thoroughly investigate and complete the abandoned New Abeokuta-Igboora/Lanlate/Igangan 132/33 KV Double Circuit Transmission Line project awarded in 2009 at the sum of one billion, nine hundred and thirty-four million, one hundred and twenty-nine thousand, four hundred and twenty-one naira, and two kobo (N1,934,129,421.02). He said the move was impressive in order for the Rural Electrification Agency to probe the projects, the disbursements, the completion stage and why the project had not been delivered beyond the June 2021 completion date and ensure the successful and timely delivery of the project in the Ibarapa Central, North and East Constituencies of Oyo State and the efforts resulted in a significant improvement in the three sites where the projects are located, but still stalled due to paucity of funds.

“Not just that, numerous visits to the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), led to positive funding allocations, as well as the recent heated exchange with the Managing Director of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) during a committee meeting on the floor of the House of Representatives in July this year when the Director claimed the company only gives light to communities where they are certain of getting their money back and making more profits. He said electricity is enjoyed in areas where there are companies while the host or neighbouring communities leverage that to have access to power. This led to a question, which was greeted with the loudest silence when the lawmaker quizzed the director to explain how he allocates the subsidy being paid by the federal government on light in Oyo State in respect to how each community in the state benefits. The heated conversation later resulted in a message of hope from the Director when the lawmaker disrupted the meeting that his community last saw electricity in the last decade.  

“I had ensured the inclusion of electric poles in the 2025 budget for the constituency, aiming to change all faulty electric poles from Eruwa to Igangan while the delay in the implementation of the 2025 budget by the federal government has prevented the work from commencing, with these claims cab be verifed his statement in the 2025 budget while I had also facilitated 12 transformers, of which only two have been delivered and installed, (monkey sweats, only that the hair on its body makes it less obvious).

“the reason the issue of electricity is this bad in the constituency is as a result of years of neglect and the attitude of everyone, which is not limited to the people in power alone, as no political officeholder is happy about the situation. 

However, the lawmaker commended the concerned citizen for her advocacy, which aims to hold members of the political class accountable without any ulterior motive other than just to see a better community for everyone.

Adepoju said he values the kind of advocacy adopted by Tawa Vlog. He also promised that the issue of power failure would soon be a thing of the past. 

In her reaction, the concerned citizen, expressed her satisfaction with the call made to her by the lawmaker.

She commended him on his efforts and all he has done in both infrastructural and human capital development in the constituency while praying to God to grant the lawmaker the ability to continue to fight for the interests of the constituency at the federal level.