Reps lament neglect of Delta oil-producing community without electricity

• …..Urge Power Ministry to Connect Ode-Itsekiri to National Grid

By Christiana Ekpa

The House of Representatives has asked the Federal Ministry of Power to connect Ode-Itsekiri, an oil-producing community in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State, to the National Electricity Grid.
The House solution followed the adoption of a motion titled “Need to Connect Ode-Itsekiri Town in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State to the National Grid,” sponsored by Hon. Thomas Ereyitomi, who represents the area.
The House also mandated its Committee on Power to ensure compliance, ensuring that the ministry and relevant agencies take concrete steps toward providing electricity to the community.
Ereyitomi, in leading the debate, said electricity and other basic social amenities such as water are essential for sustainable development and remain a fundamental responsibility of government. He lamented that Ode-Itsekiri, the ancestral homeland of the Itsekiri people, despite its proximity to Warri city, has remained cut off from the national grid, forcing residents to depend on small, inefficient diesel generators.
According to him, the situation has not only been costly and environmentally harmful but has also stifled local businesses and slowed economic growth.
He recalled that the only meaningful intervention by the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) was the rehabilitation and extension of existing electricity infrastructure, which still failed to connect the community to the national grid.