Lokoja residents decry incessant blackout

Residents of Lokoja, the Kogi State capital have expressed displeasure over the consistent blackout in most parts of the town.For about two weeks running, residents have continued to lament the constant power shortage in most parts of the metropolis, a development which Abuja Electricity Distribution Company in charge of power distribution in Kogi is yet to offer any satisfactory reason.

Areas mostly affected are Adankolo, Gadumo, old Poly Quarters, Barracks, phase 1 and phase 2 housing estates, 200 units Housing Estate, 500 units Housing Estate, Aniebo Quarters among others.

While some residents regretted that the situation is having grave negative effect on their income, others said they had to spend thousands of naira on fuel for generators to run their businesses and also provide electricity in their homes.

According to a storeowner at Aniebo Quarters, Mrs. Mary Ajibola: “We can’t have light in our houses. Our businesses are dying. People are no longer coming around because they cannot get cold water or cold drinks any more. Yet we continue to get exorbitant bills on a monthly basis.”

Another resident in the Andankolo area of Lokoja, Samson Sule, said they had to resort to buying fuel to provide their own light using generating sets every other night, a situation which he said has turned Abuja distribution company into a stand-by power supplier.

They, therefore, appealed to Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) to live up to its responsibilities and restore power to Lokoja and stop distributing bills for light that they did not consume.

Mr. Usman Bello, a resident in Old Poly quarters lamented that the electricity company is all out to exploit the people as bills are being given to consumers regularly despite the outage.

He said even though he lives in a two bedroom apartment with no major appliances the AEDC keeps on bringing N12,000 as his monthly bill.Worst of all he said the bill has continued to be estimated as there are no meters available even when they promised to deploy them.

Another residents of Old Poly quarters indicated that the blackout has also affected water supply as the Lokoja Greater water works also rely on the AEDC for power supply.