Ben Kalu Commissions 1000KVA Solar Powered Electricity to Light Up Constituency in Abia

 

A significant step towards enhancing electricity supply in Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State was taken on Friday with the commissioning of a 1000KVA solar-powered electricity project.

Initiated by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, who also represents the Constituency at the National Assembly, the project is expected to bring reliable and sustainable power to Bende headquarters and its environs.

 

Addressing the community during the commissioning, Kalu emphasized the importance of community involvement in the success of the project.

 

The solar power project is designed to serve the community for a long time, with a battery life of up to 25 years.

 

The project involves generating electricity at a central point and distributing it through transformers located across the community.

 

Kalu appealed to the community to cooperate and provide access to land and transformers to ensure the success of the project, emphasizing the need for community cooperation to sustain the project and ensure its benefits are felt by all.

He revealed that he built the solar farm on his own personal land when they refused to make one available.

 

Highlighting the challenges faced in connecting Bende to the national grid, including the cost of repairing and replacing faulty transformers, the Deputy Speakee however announced that work is currently ongoing to reconnect communities such as Uzuakoli, Ozuitem and Bende Headquarters to national grid from Alaoji power station.

 

He said: “This one is 1000KVA, and there is another 1000KVA coming, and they are going to be spread across the Bende community. We have registered the whole thirteen wards in Bende Federal Constituency to receive a project like this, but we are still waiting for them to give us land. The federal government needs a location to site them. This one will serve us and will not break down for a very long time.

 

“What the people building it said is that in about twenty-five years, the battery will still be there serving this community. I have seen it and it works. There are two locations: one is the generation point, where the electricity is generated, and the next one is the distribution point, where the transformers will work. And we are going to use as many transformers as possible.

 

“If we want to connect to the transformers in the community, you will not agree. If you refuse to give land and deny access to transformers, how will you get the light? So, you people should try and cooperate.

 

“The one I am doing on the national grid, I have spent about two hundred million naira to connect Bende back to Alaoji. That is the truth. The two hundred million naira was used in the process of connecting light back to Bende. This took a lot of other transformers to make it possible. But in doing that, we need to service all the transformers here to make it work, and you disagreed. How will you get light if your transformers are bad?

 

“The ones we carried, we have repaired them and brought them back, and the next step will be installation. To develop a community, all hands must join. So you people should come together, because I cannot be doing everything. You have a role to play, and I have mine. Sustaining this community is in your hands.”

 

Appreciating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his support and commitment to community development, Kalu said that the light will enable small scale businesses to thrive and generally enhance productivity.

 

He also called for the setting up of a vigilante group within the community to protect the critical power infrastructure.

 

“We must also build a strong vigilante group to protect this project”, he said.

 

In a related development, the Deputy Speaker also donated a newly built 2 bedroom bungalow to a widow, Mrs. Mgbadu Kalu Madukwem and her son, Mr. Onyebuchi Kalu Madukwem of Ndi Kalu compound at Agbamunzu Village, Umuoche Autonomous Community, Bende, Bende LGA of Abia State.

 

Handing over the key of the house to the family on Friday, Kalu recalled that the thought of building the house struck him some months ago during an evening walk with his children around the community.

 

He also promised to do more for the people of the constituency to appreciate them for electing him as their representative.

 

“Sometimes ago, I was strolling around the village with my children, I saw a mud house here that was in a very bad shape with a leaking roof, about to collapse on the occupants and I made a promise that I will build something better. The man of the house was still alive at the time. I am happy that we have been able to achieve that today.

 

“We have also discovered some mud houses around Bende. We are going to make sure we rebuild those mud houses, starting from this January. We will go from community to community. I can’t bear sleeping in a good apartment whereas those who sent me to Abuja are sleeping in mud houses with leaking roofs. It’s not good. I am happy that we are giving a brand new house to a family that did not expect it. They didn’t even ask me for it. They didn’t come to me and say build a house for us. I was the one who went to them and promised to build a house for them and today we have completed it to the Glory of God”, he said.

 

In their separate remarks, Mrs. Mgbadu Kalu Madukwem and her son who were overwhelmed by emotions expressed profound gratitude to the Deputy Speaker for his kind gestures, praying God to bless him abundantly.