With Scorching Heat, FCT Residents Lament Deteriorating Power Supply In Spite HugeInvestment

By Constance Athekame
Many residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), especially those residing at
the satellite towns, have continued to lament the deteriorating power situation
being presently witnessed in the country.
Some of the residents said that the development was crumbling their businesses.
They said that in spite of the huge funds invested in the sector, there was no
commensurate result, urging the Federal Government to revisit privatisation of the
sector.
Mr Augustine Okoro, a civil servant and resident of 30 Estate in Pegi, in Kuje Area
Council complained over lack of power in the area.
Okoro said that for almost three days, residents in his area had been in darkness
and this was affecting most of them, especially business operators among them.
“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, Mr Idris Wada, said that the
area had been without electricity for almost four days.
Wada said that 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 Communit, said that lack of
electricity had been affecting his welding work, saying he bought diesel daily for
his generator to enable him work.
He said he woke up in the middle of the night whenever there was electricity to
carry out some work in order to meet up with 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.
Mrs Ann Okotie, a resident of Biazhin Area, in Kubwa said that power supply in
her area had been very epileptic and this had affected 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, Mrs Elizabeth Okunsun, lamented that for almost a
week, her area had remained without power supply.
According to her, even when there is power supply, it does not stay for 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 if possible,
revisit the privatisation of the sector to address the challenges in the sector,’’ she
said.
A resident of Dawaki community and business owner, Mr 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 supply of electricity to limited energy supply from the grid.
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.
“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 apologized to Nigerians for the inconvenience the poor power
supply has caused to customers’ homes and businesses.
It appreciated Nigerians for their continued patience and understanding as
it navigates these constraints