After more than three years in darkness, residents of Ikot Mbong in ONNA Local Government Area have once again switched on their lights, following the installation of a power substation facilitated by the council chairman, Hon. Kufre Umoren.
The restoration of electricity, commissioned on Tuesday, has become the latest intervention to draw attention to the focus of Umoren’s administration on basic infrastructure and community-level development since assuming office as Chairman of the oil-rich local government.
For residents of Ikot Mbong, the significance of the project goes beyond illumination. The prolonged power outage had affected businesses and livelihoods, forcing artisans and other small-scale operators to depend on alternative sources of electricity or curtail their activities.
The project was commissioned by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor, Rt. Hon. Nse Essien, PhD, who was represented at the ceremony by the Obong of Ikot Mbong, Obong Ime Ekpoattai, PhD, a former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.
Speaking at the event, Ekpoattai described the return of electricity as a major development for the community, noting that the prolonged blackout had imposed significant hardship on residents.
He commended the council chairman for intervening in the situation, saying the availability of electricity would improve living conditions while creating room for increased economic activities.
For Umoren, however, the project represents more than the installation of electrical infrastructure. He told residents that the absence of power had effectively slowed down economic activities, particularly for small businesses that depend on electricity to operate.
“This community has been moving backward because of the lack of electricity. With electricity now restored, everybody will benefit. Barbers, welders, hairdressers and other business owners will be able to operate more effectively and earn a living. The economic value of having electricity is enormous,” he said.
The chairman’s approach also places emphasis on community responsibility, as he urged residents, particularly youths and community leaders, to protect the facility from vandalism and theft.
He asked residents to promptly report suspected acts of vandalism to the police, stressing that sustaining the electricity supply would require the cooperation of the beneficiaries.
The Ikot Mbong intervention thus adds another dimension to the projects associated with Umoren’s tenure, with the council administration seeking to connect local government intervention to the everyday needs of communities rather than limiting development to administrative centres.
At the commissioning, the Village Head, Etteidung A. P. Udoh; councillor representing the ward, Hon. Abraham Duff; Youth President, Aniekan Umana; and a women’s leader, Obongawan Nse Peter, joined other residents in commending the intervention.
Their reactions reflected the immediate value attached to electricity in a community where livelihoods are closely tied to small-scale enterprises and household economic activities.
With power now restored, businesses such as welding workshops, barbing salons and hairdressing shops are expected to operate with fewer disruptions, while households are expected to experience improved access to basic electrical services.
The development also provides a practical measure of what local government intervention can mean at community level: a project that may appear modest in administrative terms but has direct consequences for the daily economic activities of residents.
For Ikot Mbong, therefore, the new substation marks the end of a three-year wait for electricity. For the Umoren administration, it becomes another entry in its record of interventions as the chairman continues to pursue projects aimed at addressing infrastructure gaps across ONNA.
