September 30, 2026
The Management of FirstPower Electricity Distribution Company Limited has intensified its public safety campaign with another sensitisation exercise at GRA Phase 1, Nkwelle Ezunaka, in Oyi Local Government Area of Anambra State.
During the latest safety campaign, street traders and shop owners operating within the power line right-of-way were warned to vacate the areas and desist from activities that expose them and other members of the public to serious electrical hazards.
The exercise, which took place on Tuesday, followed the identification of several trading points, shops and other commercial activities operating directly under or dangerously close to high-tension power lines in the area.
The safety campaign team was led by the Head of Health, Safety and Environment (HSE), FirstPower Electricity Distribution Company Limited, Engr. Tosin Caleb Fadairo, who explained to the traders the dangers associated with carrying out commercial activities within electricity line corridors and the need to respect the prescribed right-of-way around power infrastructure.
The sensitisation exercise was also joined by HSE officers from various FirstPower districts, including Iniobong Ekpe, HSE Officer, Obosi District; Haruna Zidon D., HSE Officer, Onitsha/Nkwelle District; David Isu, HSE Officer, Ogbaru District; and Rapheal Otakpor U., HSE Officer, Ogidi/Aguleri District.
The Acting District Business Manager for Nkwelle District, Chidimma Anyanwu, also participated in the exercise.
The traders were addressed in groups at different points within the area, while those who were unable to leave their shops or business locations were engaged individually. The exercise also provided an opportunity for the traders to ask questions and seek clarification on the safety concerns raised by the FirstPower team.
Beyond verbal sensitisation, the affected traders and business operators were also warned to vacate the power line right-of-way and remove their activities and structures from areas considered unsafe for trading and other commercial operations.
FirstPower also distributed safety awareness flyers to the traders as part of efforts to reinforce the message and ensure that the safety information remains available to them beyond the physical engagement.
Fadairo stressed that the campaign was not intended to disrupt legitimate businesses, but to prevent avoidable accidents and protect lives, particularly in locations where people, structures and commercial activities are dangerously under or close to high-tension electricity infrastructure.
He warned that activities such as erecting shops, canopy or other temporary structures beneath power lines, as well as handling long metallic objects or carrying out other activities capable of bringing people or materials into contact with electricity conductors, can have fatal consequences.
The FirstPower HSE team also reminded the traders that when such electricity hazards will happen are not always predictable, but it can be avoided, especially by maintaining a safe distance from power lines and desisting from carrying out activities there under.
The Nkwelle safety campaign forms part of FirstPower’s wider safety awareness programme aimed at taking electrical safety information directly to communities, markets, roadside businesses and other locations where human activities could create risks around electricity facilities.
FirstPower urged the affected traders and shop owners to treat the message with the urgency and seriousness it deserves and to cooperate with the company by vacating the power line right-of-way within the stipulated period.
The company also called on community leaders, landlords, market associations and residents to support the campaign by discouraging encroachment on electricity corridors and promptly drawing the attention of the company to activities that could endanger lives or compromise access to power infrastructure.
Signed:
Izunna Okafor
Head, Communications
FirstPower Electricity Distribution Company Limited.Â
More photos from the sensitisation:
