Expert Attributes Pole Collapse To Quackery

The rampant
destruction of brick electricity poles has been attributed to use of sub-standard materials and disregard to specifications.
The managing director of Eugene Electricals, a Port Harcourt based electrical company, Engr Eugene Akankpa said some of the poles were manufactured by quacks who are in a hurry to make profit.
According to him, the quality and size of rods or iron used in manufacturing were substandard or too small to withstand wind storm.
“So with little pressure or impact from the wind, they bend or fall”, he said.
He urged the regulatory agencies to monitor strictly the adherence to specifications by the manufacturing companies as a way of checking the trend.
Akankpa who spoke to The Tide in Port Harcourt on Thursday further explained that if the quantity and quality of concrete used in manufacturing the electricity poles were according to professional specification the standard would be high and the high incidence of pole collapse would be reduced.
He regretted that the dubious activities of quacks in the industry had resulted in huge damage and sometimes claimed lives and stressed the need for proper regulations and monitoring.

Chris Oluoh