Rainstorm throws Ekiti communities into darkness

Residents of many neighbourhoods in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, and other towns in the state have been thrown into darkness as electric poles were destroyed by a dangerous rainstorm witnessed in the state on Friday evening.

The communities that are affected are Ajebamidele, Omisanjana, Atlas, all in Ado Ekiti, and other towns such as Ikere Ekiti, Ise Ekiti and Emure Ekiti.

The development has led to power outages as many electric poles have been destroyed in the affected areas.

Heavy rain

The heavy rain, which swept across the neighbourhoods Friday night till the early hours of Saturday, left many of the residents stranded as human and vehicular traffic was disrupted, and social and economic activities too.

The rain, which started on a peaceful note a few minutes before 5 p.m. on Friday, ceased briefly before it restarted around 6 p.m. and was accompanied by violent storms, which brought down not less than six electric concrete poles.

The cables on the affected poles connect the 132/133 KVA power substation in Omisanjana and neighbouring towns of Ikere, Ise and Emure.

Roadblock

The main access road from the Ado-Ikere Highway, which terminates at Omisanjana, has been blocked by the fallen electric poles.

The road, which was constructed by the administration of the incumbent governor of the state, Biodun Oyebanji, was recently inaugurated by Vice President Kashim Shettima.

The hitherto busy road has been left deserted as a result of the development.

Many residents who were making their way home from their workplaces were stranded for some hours. While some stayed inside their vehicles, others went to hide in nearby shops and houses.

As the rain intensified during the confusion, a good number of motorists had to turn back to take a longer route of going through Ajilosun, Ijigbo, Ilawe roads to connect their destinations through Omisanjana.

Because of the blockage of the main road by the fallen electric poles, a good number of motorists left their vehicles in some locations and trekked home in frustration.

Apart from the entire Ajebamidele neighbourhood, the development has reportedly thrown neighbouring Omisanjana community and Ikere town into darkness as the affected poles conveyed electricity to them.

Shortly after the rain ceased, some officials of Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) visited the scene to access the damaged poles ahead of a possible rescue mission on Saturday.