Residents of several communities in Badagry, Lagos State, have expressed frustration over enduring an 18-month-long power outage, attributing the issue to the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC).
According to interviews conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the lack of electricity has greatly impacted the economic and social activities in these areas.
The affected communities in Badagry Local Government include Jegba Quarters, Posikoh, Huntoh, Farakoh, Igbaho, and Awahjigoh.
The Chairman of the Electricity Committee in the area, Mr. Arowolo Lukuman, stated that the prolonged outage was a result of a transformer fault that occurred on October 22, 2022.
“After reporting the fault to EKEDC’s Badagry and Agbara offices, technical crews attempted to fix the issue following a community contribution. However, the transformer malfunctioned again shortly after the repair,” Lukuman explained.
Mr. Joseph Gbebe, a landlord in Jegba Quarters, shared that discussions with the Chairman of Badagry Local Government, Mr. Olusegun Onilude, regarding the purchase of a new transformer did not yield a positive outcome.
“Despite initial promises, the council chairman decided against buying a new transformer. An Eko Disco representative suggested settling the outstanding debt instead of acquiring a new transformer,” Gbebe mentioned.
One of the residents, Mr. Kehinde Akapo, a fashion designer at Posikoh, revealed that the outage had caused a significant decline in his customer base, leading to financial strains on his business.
Similarly, Mr. Segun Idowu, a manager of a facility in Marina area, disclosed that he incurs substantial costs daily to fuel generators due to the lack of electricity in the community.
Notably, Mrs. Iyabode Ashogbon, a landlady in Jegba Quarters, stated that several tenants had vacated her property due to the extended power outage.
Furthermore, Mrs. Christiana Emmanuel, a vendor of frozen foods, mentioned that she had to shift to selling liquid soap as a result of the electricity crisis affecting her business.
In response, Mr. Segun Kosoko, the Public Relations Officer at EKEDC’s Agbara District Office, clarified that consumers allegedly owed a larger sum of N20.17 million, contrasting with the reported N4.5 million debt.
Kosoko emphasized that residents must make substantial payments towards their outstanding bills for the transformer to undergo repairs or replacement, as per the management’s instructions.
“To address the transformer issue, residents need to make significant payments against their outstanding debts in electricity bills. The recent payment made by the residents in May 2023 was only N38,500,” Kosoko added.