Vandalism: Ogun counts losses, introduces solar-powered street lights

By Grace Olatundun

In a move to curb   vandalism and ensure  safety of the citizenry, the Ogun State Government has launched solar-powered street lights-up projects across the state.

Disclosing this in a chat with journalists in Abeokuta on Sunday, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Energy Matters, Mr. Oluwafemi Omisanjo said persistent vandalism of government assets, especially the many street lights on the highways across the state, forced the current administration to seek an alternative to the generator-powered streets lights.

Consequently, the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led administration, he said, decided to introduce a more secure and sustainable solution, adding that a pilot scheme of the solar-powered streetlight has commenced in some parts of Abeokuta, the state capital.

The government’s move is coming on the heels of recent arrests of vandals stealing street light cables and other accessories along the Sagamu Interchange-Abeokuta Expressway by security agents, with one of the criminals nabbed for stealing a transformer.

Omisanjo said the government will replace the street lights on Sagamu Interchange-Abeokuta Expressway with a solar-powered system.

The government, he added, is also embarking on a full-scale analysis of the planned deployment of the newly introduced solar-powered street lights to replace the current ones across the state.

“Very soon, the good people of Ogun State will begin to see and feel the impact of this solution. We assure them of their security and safely in all parts of the state,” he said.