“You risk death”, Prince Nwanjoku warns vandals as he reconnects Aninri to national power grids
Prince Ugochukwu Nwanjoku has re-stated his resolve to fight for the people of Aninri. During his campaign in 2024, he made a number of promises which included electrifying the entire zone in less than 18 months.
He has, yesterday, completely fulfilled that promise – less than 14 months after he took oath of office. The completion was announced in a brief circular shared yesterday by the youths leader of Aninri All Progressives Congress (APC), Joshua Ogbonna.
“The Aninri Council Chairman, Hon. Prince Ugochukwu Nwanjoku, has fixed the vandalized electricity poles at the Ndeabor‑Awgu axis, as he promised,” the statement read.
For ages, Aninri – a largely remote agrarian area – has surrendered to darkness and embraced it. One by one several political leaders came and passed by since 1999 without even a thought on the suffering of the locals in this regard – despite that billions of naira was regularly earmarked for Aninri electricity projects in national allocations.
In a distant past, feeble attempts were made and Aninri was connected to electricity. However, the joy was temporal as vandals swooped on the installations, carried them proudly to open market places and sold them without any consequence.
People saw clear picture of what has been happening few months ago when former Aninri Legislative Leader, Igwe Philip, was unanimously impeached by his colleagues. Among other things, he allegedly sponsored vandals of 300KVA transformer at Afo-Agbo near the council’s headquarters. Although the allegation hasn’t been proven, Philip has not denied it either.
Prince Ugochukwu Nwanjoku has radically rewritten the Aninri story. Having so far installed 19 transformers across all villages in the council, he has replaced the stolen cable wires and restore hundreds of poles.
Constituents react as Ugochukwu Nwanjoku connects Aninri to national grids
Finally, yesterday, the chairman connected the zone to national power grid and joy erupted all across the land.
“I witnessed it, and I’m planning to relocate to Nenwe on February (2026),” said Nwonye Sunday, Aninri-born welder who “ran” to neighbouring Awgu to continue his craft because of no electricity.
“Nobody was buying from us there at Nenwe, and I’ll tell you why. Customers were going to do their works at Awgu and other places outside Aninri because it was cheaper in those places.
“That customer will have to pay for transportation and for the product. Yet if you calculate it, it’s cheaper than what is obtainable in Nenwe. Do you know why? The welder in Awgu used electricity but those of us in Aninri used generators. You have to buy gasoline, you have to repair and service your gen (generator). In the end the cost of production will make all the difference,” Nwonye said.
In a private chat with Info Wars, Prince Nwanjoku said that each of the promises he made on campaign trails were not meant to entice the people.
“I’ll fulfil them, all of them. We understand the economic importance of installing a functional electricity in the council. That’s why we’re leaving no stone unturned to make sure that every nooks and crannies is powered,” he said, vowing to show no pity to anyone who would attempt to vandalize the installations under his watch.
The Electricity Act 2023 (amended 2025) now includes in it a stringent penalty of life imprisonment.
