Osun community decries two-month blackout

Residents of Inisa, Osun State, have lamented a two-month electricity blackout in the town, calling on Governor Ademola Adeleke to intervene and restore power to the community.

The National Chairman of the Inisa Development Union, Prof Tunde Babawale, said the prolonged blackout, caused by a faulty transformer that had been removed for repairs, was affecting the community’s activities.

Babawale spoke on Saturday at the 35th edition of the annual Inisa Day celebration, attended by various groups and compound representatives, where funds were raised for community development projects.

Describing electricity as the community’s most pressing challenge, he appealed to the state government to support efforts to restore power, noting that reliable electricity was essential for commercial activities to thrive.

He said, “Our biggest demand is electricity. We have a challenge with our transformer, which has been down for almost two months, and it has been taken out for repair.

“We are urging the government to support us so that commercial activities can take off. Also, we want more teachers for our schools.

We have a health centre that is almost in a state of dilapidation. We are calling on the government to help us and give it a facelift and also employ more hands so that they can attend to the health needs of our people.”

Babawale also called for the renovation of the community’s dilapidated health centre and the employment of additional health workers to improve access to healthcare.

On the significance of Inisa Day, the IDU chairman said the annual celebration was designed to mobilise indigenes towards contributing to the development of their hometown.

He added, “It is a carnival atmosphere that we have here, and that is the usual thing for Inisa Day. What we intend to do is to raise awareness about the need for Inisa to develop beyond the level that it is now, and we need the support of the entire town.”

While acknowledging government support for some projects in the community, Babawale expressed hope that more interventions would be extended to the town.

He said, “We have seen some evidence of support from the government, and we are hoping that more will be done.”

In his remarks, a nonagenarian chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State, Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun, renewed the community’s appeal for the establishment of a federal higher institution, preferably an agriculture-based university.

He said, “We need federal educational institutions in Inisa. Our appeal to the Federal Government is to give us a federal institution. This area being a rural area, we would like an agriculture-based university.”

Oyedokun, who expressed support for President Bola Tinubu’s administration, urged residents to maintain peace as the country prepares for the 2027 general elections.

He added, “To the people of Osun State, we have to be very peaceful, and I am very happy that Inisa is setting an example. Here today, different political parties are represented, and the party members are happy and rejoicing together.”

Earlier, the chairperson of the planning committee, Oluwakemi Oyewale, commended Inisa indigenes at home and abroad for supporting the town’s development, stressing the need for all stakeholders to sustain their contributions.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that Inisa residents called for the establishment of a higher institution and improved infrastructure, lamenting that successive governments had overlooked the community in the distribution of public projects.

The appeal was made during the 2026 Inisa Day celebration, where residents also raised funds for community-driven development projects.

Speaking with journalists at the event, Oyedokun said most of the existing infrastructure in the town had been provided through communal efforts.

He said, “Even though Inisa town is developing, the community has not witnessed the impact of the state and federal government in terms of physical development.”