Take It Back Movement Delta State Chapter Condemns Longstanding Darkness in Otumara and Ugbomoya Communities: Where Is the Transformer, Hon. Blessing Achoja?

Date: Friday, 1st August, 2025

In a nation drowning in unfulfilled political promises, the cries from the grassroots often go unheard. But the Take It Back Movement, Delta State Chapter, is raising its voice in solidarity with the people of Otumara and Ugbomoya communities in Ethiope West LGA, who have lived in total darkness for over 15 years, an appalling and unacceptable condition in the 21st century.

The two communities, like many others across Nigeria, have been victims of political deceit and elite manipulation. According to multiple testimonies gathered from villagers, during the 2023 general elections, the then-candidate and now Honourable Blessing Achoja, member representing Ethiope West Constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly, made a direct campaign promise: he would repair and return their community transformer, a transformer that was non-functional but symbolized hope.

Desperate for change and moved by the Honourable’s promise, the people agreed for him to take the transformer for repairs, trusting that their vote would finally bring electricity back to their homes. They voted massively for him, delivering the two units in Otumara and Ugbomoya, and hoped that the days of blackout and deception were finally behind them.

But now, over two years after the elections, Hon. Blessing Achoja has yet to fulfill his promise. The transformer has not been returned. The communities remain in darkness—not just in the literal sense, but symbolically, as a reflection of the failed governance that continues to plague the Niger Delta region.

The people, betrayed and disillusioned, reached out to Comrade Emebradu Kenneth, a grassroots-based human rights activist and advocate, to amplify their voices. Comrade Kenneth took it a step further—he visited both communities, conducted on-the-ground interviews, and posted a video documentary of their testimonies on various social media platforms. In the video, villagers clearly affirmed that Hon Achoja came during the campaign period, took the transformer, and promised to return it once he won. That promise has since been abandoned.

Instead of acknowledging the delay and facing the public with accountability, Hon. Achoja reportedly responded by sending his political foot soldiers and media aides to the villages, stating that he would now return the transformer before August 20th, 2025, over two years since he was elected, and only after the issue went viral.

Also, Hon. Blessing Achoja’s response that he is expecting the transformer from NDDC is a fallacy and a sign of refusal to take full responsibility for infrastructure he is elected to provide. We smell a game of using NDDC as a convenient cover-up, and Deltans will no longer be deceived by such tired political gimmicks. Leadership means accountability, not blame-shifting.

This last-minute reaction reeks of political damage control, not sincere public service. The Take It Back Movement Delta State Chapter hereby condemns, in the strongest terms, this culture of using the people’s suffering as a campaign strategy, only to discard them after securing electoral victory. It is an insult to the dignity of the people of Otumara and Ugbomoya—and, by extension, a shameful stain on Delta State’s democratic credibility.

We Demand:

1. The immediate return and installation of the promised transformer, not another empty deadline.
2. A public apology from Hon. Blessing Achoja for misleading the electorate and delaying basic infrastructure.
3. A full report on the status of the transformer: where it was taken, what was done, and how funds, if any were allocated for its repair.

The Take It Back Movement believes that public office is not a personal reward but a sacred trust. Politicians must be held accountable for every word spoken on the campaign trail. The people of Ethiope West are not fools. They remember. And we will not let them be forgotten or silenced.

If the transformer is not returned and installed by the promised August 20th, 2025 deadline, the Take It Back Movement will organize a peaceful protest, mobilize media and legal action, and ensure that this betrayal is exposed across Nigeria.

Electricity is not a privilege, it is a right. And the people of Otumara and Ugbomoya will no longer be kept in the dark, neither by the failed grid nor by failed promises.

We take it back. We take back power to the people.

Signed,
Take It Back Movement — Delta State Chapter