If the Part One showed the recklessness of Governor Monday Okpebholo’s directive on Ossiomo Power in broad strokes, the Part Two brings the tragedy home with a real-life example: Gym Starllion.
Located at 22 Okoro-Otun Avenue, Off Ikpokpan Road, in Benin City, Gym Starllion was one of the many small businesses that benefited from the Ossiomo arrangement under the previous administration. For years, the gym centre relied on steady, affordable power from the 11 KVA line that passed its corridor. That simple policy decision spared it the crippling expense of running diesel generators day and night, allowing it to offer reliable services to its clients and sustain jobs for young people in the area.
But in one reckless move, Okpebholo snatched that stability away. Following the governor’s directive to disconnect private users from the Ossiomo line feeding government offices, Gym Starllion has been forced to run on diesel for the past three weeks or more. What had been a thriving local enterprise is now gasping under the weight of soaring diesel costs.
The tragedy is not that the gym centre cannot see the power line; the tragedy is that it cannot access it because of the government’s shortsighted order. To reconnect, Gym Starllion must now shoulder the extra burden of buying poles, wires, and cables to tap into the 33 KVA line, costs that run into millions. For a small business still reeling from inflation and multiple taxes, that demand is nothing short of strangulation.
This is where Okpebholo’s policy fails the most. Instead of being a partner to small businesses, his administration has become an obstacle. Instead of lowering costs, it is raising them. Instead of attracting enterprise, it is chasing it away. The governor’s decision is not just bad economics, it is hostile governance.
How does a government claim to support growth while forcing a gym, a cold-room operator, or a tailor back to the age of fuel drums and choking generator fumes? How can Edo talk about investment when even its existing businesses are being smothered by clueless policies?
Gym Starllion is only one name. Behind it are dozens of other shops, offices, and families who once had light but now sit in darkness, watching their livelihoods slip away. Their story is the story of a state where politics has been placed above people, and petty vengeance has replaced vision.
Okpebholo’s recklessness is not just killing light; it is killing businesses. The governor may believe he is undoing his predecessor, but in truth, he is undoing Edo’s future.
If this is the template of governance, then every entrepreneur, every civic group, every opposition voice must rise to say enough. Because if a business enterprise like Gym Stallion can be crippled overnight, no business in Edo is safe.
Ehizojie, a public affairs commentator, resides in Benin City and can be reached on stateofedonow@gmail.com
