The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) on Friday donated a ferry, two outboard engines and 300 units of safety vests to Idah community in Kogi State.
The Chairman of Board of AEDC, Alhaji Shehu Malami, while handing over the items, said that they were meant to ease the movement of people living in the riverine areas of Idah across the River Niger.
Malami, a former High Commissioner to South Africa, said that the items would particularly be useful to traders traveling on the river between Idah and Agenebode in Edo State.
He said that the gesture was meant to underscore the willingness of the company to support communities within its franchise areas.
The chairman advised the people to make optimal and sustainable use of the facilities.
He also urged the beneficiary communities to reciprocate the gesture by paying their electricity bills regularly as well as protect power facilities in the areas.
The Kogi Deputy Governor, Mr Simon Achuba, who received the items on behalf of the state government, thanked the AEDC for the donation, saying that they would enhance the safety of travelers and reduce travel time.
He promised that the ferry and other items would be put to judicious use, adding that transport fares would be reduced to make it affordable for people.
The Managing Director of AEDC, Mr Ernest Mupwaya, said that his company moved in to resolve a challenge that the people living in the riverine communities of Idah had been battling with for years.
He said that AEDC would continue to add value and guard the environment in where it operated.
On the challenges facing the power sector, Mupwaya said that inadequate infrastructure was the the main problem militating against improvement in power supply.
He, however, said that efforts were being intensified to address the challenge.
