Posted by thephctelegraph on
Unknown persons have hacked down more electricity poles between Ulakwo and Akwukabi communities conveying power to Okehi headquarters.....
Unknown persons have hacked down more electricity poles between Ulakwo and Akwukabi communities conveying power to Okehi headquarters of the Etche Local Government Area.
According to information available to the Telegraph, no less than eight poles were dislodged this time while attempts were made to make away with the cables extended to the local government headquarters by the council led by Hon. Ephraim Nwuzi.
The incident, which is now frustrating the desire of the Etche people who reside in the Ulakwo/Umuselem Okehi axis t enjoy the power source is coming in the wake of an earlier assault on power lines, which occurred about two weeks ago.
Incidentally, the latest attack on power lines that took place in the night occurred within the vicinity of the first which led to heated arguments between the Akwukabi people and their Ulakwo neighbours.
It would be recalled that two transformers placed at Ulakwo I and Ulakwo II mysteriously went bad and an attempt to replace them by the council led to a fracas during which the council chairman, technicians of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria and some policemen were physically attacked by irate youths believed to have been mobilized by some politicians.
Said a source that spoke under conditions of anonymity, "Before now, we thought perhaps that it may have been coincidental for two transformers placed at Ulakwo to go bad. Now with the assault on the power lines twice in the same area, my mind tells me somebody is busy sabotaging development efforts"
But why should the people be made to suffer?
This is the question most people within Etche Ethnic \Nationality are asking.
Many in Etche suspect that what is going on between the Ulakwo and Akwukabi axis could be politically motivated by differences arising within the PDP in the area which have led to the birth of two camps that remain diametrically opposed to each other.
Said an angry Akwukabi youth who spoke to the Telegraph, "Those attacking these power lines think they are undoing Nwuzi. They are wrong. We the Akwu people are the ones that are feeling the pinch. Why should these people play politics with our development?
When contacted, the chairman of the council confirmed that more power lines have been destroyed.
"We thank God", Nwuzi noted, "that they did not succeed in carting away the power lines."
He said that the latest incident has been brought to the knowledge of security personnel in the area.
"Those bent on fighting me can go ahead if they wish, but my prayer is that they allow ordinary people who cannot afford generators; ordinary people who now have the opportunity of enjoying the benefits of their own government to have access to development", Nwuzi stressed
"We know that it is not the people who are doing these things. Etche people are not anti-progressive. It doesn't matter how many times these saddists bring down the electricity lines. We will ensure by the grace of God that power supply to Okehi and communities affected by the acts of these evil-minded persons is restored."
Our information is that a man claiming to have been seriously injured around the vicinity where the power lines were cut may have had questions to answer from the police.
The man is said to have told the police that he was returning very late in the night from an undisclosed destination when those who were behind the destruction suddenly attacked him in an attempt to snatch his car.
In the meantime, many Etche people surveyed by the Telegraph say the time has come for the State government to step into the matter.
They say that it is wrong for nay one under whatever guise to turn their anger on development projects.
They appealed to the state government to issue a stern warning to leaders of the PDP particularly in the Ulakwo axis, saying their actions are portraying Etche people as negative and backward people who do not appreciate development.