Many FCT residents lament deteriorating power supply despite huge investment

Many residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), especially those in the satellite towns, have continued to lament the deteriorating power situation across the country.

Some of the residents who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja said the development was crumbling their businesses.

They said that despite the huge funds invested in the sector, there has been no commensurate result, urging the Federal Government to revisit the privatisation of the industry.

Augustine Okoro, a civil servant and resident of 30 Estate, Pegi, Kuje Area Council, complained about the lack of power in the area.

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Mr Okoro said that for almost three days, residents in his area had been in darkness, which was affecting most of them, especially business operators.

“Most times, we stay almost three to four days without electricity; this is not good for a country where so much money has been invested into the sector.

“My advice is that the Federal Government should revisit privatisation of the sector as it is not yielding any result, ‘’he said.

A resident of Piwoyi Community along Airport Road, Idris Wada, said that the area had been without electricity for almost four days.

Mr Wada said that the lack of stable electricity had affected his business of selling “pure water” and soft drinks.

According to him, most business owners in the area depend on generators to run their businesses, and he does not have the money to buy one.

“I have not been able to continue with my business because of lack of power supply to my area and this is seriously affecting my business.

“In spite of the huge amount voted for electricity supply in the country, we are still not getting power supply.

“Government should try and do something about the situation,’’ he said.

A welder, Okon Edem, also residing in Piwoyi Community, said that the lack of electricity had been affecting his welding work, saying he bought diesel daily for his generator to enable him to work.

He said he woke up in the middle of the night whenever there was electricity to do some work to meet his customers’ demands.

“I am appealing to the government to do all it takes to ensure that power supply in the country improves,’’ he said.

Ann Okotie, a resident of Biazhin Area in Kubwa, said power supply in her area had been very erratic, affecting her cold room business.

According to her, power is supplied to her area for about eight hours uninterrupted, but presently, we don’t receive the hours of electricity we used to get, and it does not come every day.

A resident of Kubwa village, Elizabeth Okunsun, lamented that for almost a week, her area had remained without power supply.

According to her, even when there is power, it lasts only up to three hours.

“The situation has led to the collapse of businesses and revenue from small-scale businesses. I appeal to the government to look into the power situation, and if possible, revisit the privatisation of the sector to address the challenges in the sector,’’ she said.

A resident of the Dawaki community and business owner, Moses Aligbe, also appealed to the government to address the root causes of the epileptic power supply.

“Government should do something about the situation to save us from losing our sources of income,’’ he said.

NAN reports that the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) attributed the low electricity supply to limited grid energy.

The AEDC had, in a Public Notice on its official X handle on Friday, said, “ Dear Valued Customers, We are keenly aware of the current low power supply and outages being experienced by customers across our franchise areas.

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“We strive to maintain a steady flow of energy; however, several locations are currently facing significant disruptions as a result of limited energy supply from the grid.

“Our technical team is closely monitoring the situation in real-time and remains fully committed to restoring normal service at the earliest possible time as soon as our grid allocation improves, ‘’ it said.

The company also apologised to Nigerians for the inconvenience caused by the poor power supply to customers’ homes and businesses.

It appreciated Nigerians for their continued patience and understanding as it navigates these constraints. (NAN)