The community of Araromi-Oke Odo in Ife South Local Government Area of Osun State has finally received access to electricity 92 years after its establishment.

This long-awaited access to electricity comes as a welcome relief to the community, which had been living without this essential service, along with other basic amenities like pipe-borne water and good roads.

Governor Ademola Adeleke has pledged to collaborate with independent energy companies to provide electricity to communities that have long endured darkness.

Speaking on behalf of the governor, Commissioner for Energy Adeyemo Ademola commended the resilience of the Araromi-Oke Odo community since its establishment in 1932.

Adeleke stated “This is the first of its kind in this State. We appreciate the Sholep company and we are anticipating more of it.”

There are projects of this nature going on in eight different communities in Ife-South. We are extending the same gesture to other communities in other local governments in Osun.”

“The State government is partnering with foreign investors to give energy to our State. Many communities are not under the grid, so the State government is allowing independent energy to fill the gap to light up Osun State,”

The CEO of Sholep Energy Limited, Engr. Olalekan Adeleke Shogbesan, shared details about the World Bank Assisted project, mainly financed by Sholep, which is underway in eleven different communities within the Ife-south local government area of the State.

He revealed that the 50KWP Hybrid Solar Mini-Grid Power Plant, construction of which began in 2018, is sufficient to provide electricity to the entire community of Araromi Oke-Odo.

“It will power the whole community up to more than 700 houses because what they are using compared to what they have here, we’re still going to have a lot of leftovers, and the way we see things when we started, they are just 634 meters as I am seeing it today.”
“It’s like we’re going to start another phase 2, ASCP because the community has become so big within a year. We came into this community in October 2018, and we found out that this community didn’t have electricity, access to clean water.”

“We provide them 20,000 liters per day, 24 hours water supply, and we will provide them uninterrupted power supply for the next 10 years,” Engr. Shogbesan stated.

At the project’s inauguration, Commissioner for Energy Adeyemo Ademola pledged the government’s support to ensure the company’s business is protected.

The Alara of Araromi Oke-Odo, Oba Abass Gbadamosi, expressed happiness at the realization of the project and pledged the community’s cooperation and protection of the company’s business interests.