The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has been accused of intermittent electricity supply by communities in the Ife North Local Government.

Youths from Ipetumodu, Asipa, Akinlalu, Yakooyo, Moro, and Edunabon also staged a protest against the IBEDC's alleged exorbitant electricity bills for their communities.

They demanded that the governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, and the newly elected member of the state assembly, Akinyode Abidemi Oyewusi, immediately assist them.

Babalola Taiwo, the acting Youth President, said that it was sad that the IBDEC had darkened six communities for long hours and that the ordeal was starting to affect people's lives and businesses.

The protesters accused the electricity supply company of crippling their businesses and subjecting them to attacks by hoodlums, particularly at night, while issuing a warning to the IBEDC to find a solution to the issue.

He said, “We don’t know what we did to IBEDC. They subjected us to epileptic power supply to our area. They don’t give us light. Because of this, most of the artisans, especially those who cannot afford to buy generators, have moved out of the community,” he said.

Answering, the Senior Correspondence Official of IBEDC, Osun District, Kikelomo Owoeye, spoke to inhabitants of the area to try to avoid panicking as the organization is working intensely to determine the issue.

Owoeye explained that on March 10, 2023, the Transmission station's malfunctioning equipment caused the prolonged outage.

She spoke further that while looking for the broken equipment, another breaker broke in the Control Room, which made it take longer to get electricity back on.

“On March 10, 2023 there was a fault due to faulty equipment from the Transmission Station, Ajebandele which resulted in a prolonged outage.

“However, all the faults have been cleared and we have begun to work towards achieving the minimum of 8 hours of supply which is the Service Tariff Band D they belong to,” she said.

She said that the company has met with youths and traditional leaders in the communities in a series of meetings. She said that all disputed bills should be sent to the Business Hub, Ile-Ife, for a solution.