Kalu Signs N100m Power Restoration Contract In Abia

Deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has signed a N100 million contract for the restoration of electricity in Item and Alayi Wards of Bende Federal Constituency in Abia State following years of blackout.

He signed the contract after flagging off the Renewed Hope Light-up Project targeting 42,000 households across the 13 wards in the constituency with solar light at Bende, headquarters of Bende local government area.

Kalu, who represents the constituency at the National Assembly, also distributed 26 33KVA electric transformers to the wards to connect the communities to the national grid.

He said the project has two components, connecting communities to the national grid through the transformer distribution and providing alternative energy through solar for all homes in the constituency.

He said, “The intervention aligns with the eight-point Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu which seeks to improve the economic life of Nigerians starting from the communities.

What we are doing today has a multiple effect, a ripple effect that trickles down to different aspects of this Renewed Hope Agenda of the president. Today, we stand as the partners of the agenda.

‎”We are members of APC, Bende constituents who believe in the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and his agenda to improve the lives of the people of Nigeria starting from the constituency.

‎”What we are here to do is to drive that vision home by making it a mission that our people can feel, touch and experience. Light before now to many homes in Bende seemed to be luxury. That has been demystified.”

‎He expressed gratitude to the president for his interventions in the constituency in particular and the South East in general, noting that the project would have great impact on the rural dwellers.

He added, ‎”Let me thank the president for initiating the Renewed Hope Agenda which has been the roadmap towards the achievements we have made in the last few years.

‎”There is nothing we are doing in the constituency, in Igboland as members of this government that has not been approved by the president. He loves the South Easterners.”

‎”And he is making sure that most of the landmark initiatives commence from this area of the country. Today, we are saying bye bye to darkness in Bende Federal Constituency.”

‎Explaining that the rollout is in batches of 10,000 households, he said 1,000 solar units had already been distributed to beneficiaries from wards who were present at the ceremony to testify.

‎The two term lawmaker and deputy speaker explained that each solar unit will serve for 10 years, revealing that it comes with a maintenance agreement.

‎”The people who are handling it said it will serve our people for 10 good years which means you are not going to look for kerosene to power your lanterns, where to charge your phone, power fan.

‎”The arrangement we have made with them is that if anything goes bad, we will invite them to come back and fix it as far as you didn’t break it.”

‎”I want to thank Bende people for sending me to the National Assembly, Abuja. I want to thank them for making that decision.”

‎”The decision is what is fetching what is happening here today and many more that we have done as well as much more that we will do in the coming days.”

‎In their separate responses, some beneficiaries of the 1,000 solar units, Umezi Okoro Umezi, Uche Agbeze, Okezie Usim. and the areas APC chairman, Josco Joe thanked Kalu for his quality representation.