The people of Oke-Oyi, the headquarters of Ilorin East local government area of Kwara State, have lamented 18-month power outage.
The blackout also affected Agbeyangi, Oke-Ose, Panada, Badi, Adelu and Oloro communities.
The people said the failure of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) to supply electricity to the area has adversely affected their businesses.
The chairman of Oke-Oyi Community Development Association, Ahmed Seriki, who spoke with LEADERSHIP in Ilorin, the state capital on Tuesday on behalf of the villagers, called on IBEDC to restore electricity to the communities.
Seriki decried the situation and appealed to IBEDC to urgently address the issue.
The situation, Mr Seriki said, has adversely affected commercial activities in the area amidst prevailing economic hardship.
“We urge the appropriate authorities, particularly the state governor and the IBEDC, to restore electricity supply in the town. The power outage has paralysed socio-economic activities in this community,” Seriki said.
He regretted that many business owners have relocated to other towns, while those that could not were languishing in abject poverty.
The secretary of the community association, Jamiu Oladokun, said that there was a time the Oke-Oyi community bought cables to help restore electricity, adding that the effort, however, did not yield the desired result.
The secretary described the 18-month power outage as outrageous and unbearable.
A resident, Jimoh Yewande, appealed to the authorities to save them from darkness, saying it is more easy for criminals to operate more in darkness.