Abuja, March 10, 2024: The blackout and power rationing by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has deepened, aggravating the suffering of the residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The situation hit climax in the last three weeks when large part of Abuja and environs have been thrown into darkness with same reason of maintenance and repairs and sometimes complains of inadequate load allocation by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
Whereas TCN had accused the distribution companies of refusal to take up loads allocated to them, including AEDC.
An electricity consumer in Kubwa, Mr Jimoh Olarewaju, who reacted to the notice issued by the electricity distribution company says AEDC is aggravating suffering of its consumers.
AEDC’s notice to its customers said: ” The power outage currently being experienced is due to the stormy weather that has damaged several critical equipment serving these areas.
“F01, Military Pension Board, Dantata Estate, Chikakore Community, Byazhin, Across, Arab Road, Mopol Barracks, Kubwa Extension III, FCDA Owners Occupier, Army Scheme, Phase 3, Phase 4, and environs.
”Our team of engineers are currently working hard to rectify and restore the power supply soonest.”
Olarewaju said that the notice was not tenable as AEDC had come out with three excuses on the Kubwa electricity supply situation.
He said’ ”first they said it was feeder pillar that had issue, Secondly, they said some of their equipment were vandalised and now stormy weather damaged critical equipment.
”It is over one week that parts of Kubwa had been without power supply, before now we normally have it for two or three hours a day but now it is total blackout.
”We have never had it so bad and it is unfortunate that AEDC can keep a whole community in darkness for days.
”What people are saying that the issue is a deliberate effort to sabotage this government as we all know that people are going through a lot presently,” he said.
According to him, with the removal of fuel subsidy, the dollar issue, the only thing that make people sit at home is electricity and this is not available.
Olarewaju said that consumers were complaining bitterly as it was affecting their businesses.
He said that small scale businesses were affected the most as they use electricity to run their business.
”In my farm, I now depend on generator to pump water to preserve the fishes in the pond and most of them are dying
”At the same time, there is scarcity of fuel and people are queining to get the product and the money is not there.
”We even learnt that there is enough electricity to transmit but the distribution companies are not taking enough.
“That is why people are saying it is sabotage, if the power supply is available we are ready to buy,” he said.
The Facebook handle of AEDC had been inundated with complaints and curses as the Customer service unit could no longer cope responding to issues.
Abuja residents are asking the government to create another company for dedicated service to Abuja.
“Hope it is not deliberate putting Abuja into darkness? If Abuja is in darkness, what happens in states?’’
Mr Festus Alabi, an engineer resident in Garki, said: “Abuja, the Federal Capital of Nigeria has no electricity; it is a shame. Abuja is supposed to be a yardstick to assess Nigeria.
“How would investors come to Nigeria if Abuja, capital of Nigeria has not electricity, he asked?
The federal government should do something urgently.
Mrs Esther Julius, restaurateur, said: “PHCN era is now better than what we now find ourselves.’’
“It is actually bad that a company cannot manage electricity to FCT, Kogi, Nasarawa. What is the company doing in FCT?
She explained that AEDC was in the habit of increasing rates without commensurate improvement in services and the company had not invested a dim to improve on the infrastructure it inherited from PHCN. The government should not renew the license of AEDC because it has put Nigeria into shame, Mr Hassan Umar, said.
