Akwa Ibom To Take Over Street Lighting From Contractors, Says Commissioner

The state government may take over the powering of street light contracts hitherto handled by contractors says commissioner for works in Akwa Ibom, Mr. Ephraim Inyang.

Inyang said this would be done to ensure that Uyo, the state capital as well as other major towns across the state are properly lighted up at night for security reasons.

Inyang, who spoke in Uyo while reviewing the activities of the Ministry, said the step would be taken unless the contractors replace all ageing generators they are using.

Explaining why most of the streets in the capital city are in darkness, Inyang said: “What we saw when we came on board was a situation where generators were used. These generators were owned by contractors and they were not willing to maintain them. “So, you see a situation where we supply diesel to the generators by 6pm and they are supposed to be on till 6am. But, after these generators, which are not in very good condition, has worked for three to four hours, they trip off; the entire area goes into darkness. And for that reason, I have refused to approve payment to them since I came on board, which is one of the things they use against some of us because I am insisting that you give me value.”

The commissioner said he will not continue to approve payments for something that has not been done to give the  state value for her resources. He insisted that the era of ‘running  government because it is  government’ has gone adding that government should be run as an entity where all operators have a responsibility to give account.

He said if the lighting position in the state must be changed, then government must take responsibility of those generators or the contractors replaced them.

On why the state has not switched-over to using solar system which is cheaper to maintain,  he said the state is already working on that. He noted that though solar system is more economical at the maintenance level, it is more expensive at installation.

“At the installation, solar is more expensive. At the maintenance point, it is cheap. So, you need a whole lot of capital to install solar but after installing it, you do not have an issue,” he said.

He explained that there will be financial crisis if the government wants to replace all the street lights on all the old roads in Uyo with solar lighting system at one fell swoop.