By Ozioruva Aliu

BENIN CITY – THE people of Fugar in Etsako central local government area of Edo state have accused the chairman of the council, Solomon Obomhigie of taking credit for a lighting work that was initiated by an individual known as Light up Fugar and Afemai Project.

Speaking to Vanguard on the issue, one of the leaders from the area, Engr. Musa Okhakhume who also said he was a contractor in the project said the initiative was spearheaded by Mr. Philip Oshotse who is from Fugar but based abroad adding that he did the project without any political interest attached to it.

He said they were shocked that the chairman included some communities in Wards 7 and 8 without the necessary approvals from the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).

He said the communities were initially picked to be part of the project but due to some technical reasons, they were removed and that “Going behind the backdoor to add these communities amounts to a disservice to the project.

“The unauthorized inclusion of these communities has resulted in constant power interruptions in Fugar and its environs. This illegal action by the local government chairman has caused significant disruptions, affecting the stability and reliability of the power supply to our communities” and accused Obomhigie of using the “unauthorized connections of communities in Wards 7 and 8” to campaign, falsely attributing the project’s success to his efforts. “Let it be unequivocally stated that the local government, starved of funds by the current state administration and incapable of executing such a project, had no part in this achievement.”

But when contacted, Obomhigie denied the allegations saying the project his administration embarked on in the area is different from the Oshiotse light project and that he never claimed ownership of the project and that the initiator of the project is his personal friend.

He said “Fugar had electricity but epileptic. Other communities in the LGA had no light for upward of 15yrs. When I came in I engaged BEDC to help clear the lines and all impediments obstructing supplies to them. For instance Ugbekpe Ekperi had no light till about two weeks ago when his Excellency provided them with a transformer despite the fact Fugar light has been upgraded since last year.”