- Residents of Ikotun, Lagos, report severe hardship from a 10-day blackout, citing economic losses, disrupted daily life, and high costs of alternative energy.
- Ikeja Electric attributes the outage to a faulty transformer at Oke Afa substation, while the national grid’s instability has sparked broader criticism of Nigeria’s power infrastructure.
Residents of Governors Road in Ikotun, Alimosho Local Government Area, Lagos, have criticised Ikeja Electric for failing to restore power during a blackout that has lasted over 10 days.
Emmanuel Joseph, chairman of Igando Peace Estate Phase IV CDA, said the outage disrupted economic and social activities. “This prolonged blackout has caused untold hardship to households and businesses. Many residents have had to rely on alternative energy sources at great financial and environmental cost,” Joseph said Wednesday.
He also faulted Ikeja Electric for poor communication. “The absence of communication from your office has created uncertainty, leaving consumers in the dark, literally and figuratively, without knowledge of the cause, expected restoration time, or measures being taken,” he added.
Residents voiced concerns about the safety of transformers, cables, and other electrical infrastructure. One resident said, “We have been using pure water to cook and buying extra fuel just to pump water for bathing. It is financially draining.” Another lamented, “We have not had light in 2 weeks. It is affecting businesses. They should resolve it quickly.”
Ikeja Electric attributed the blackout to a faulty transformer at the Oke Afa injection substation. “The shortfall in supply across our 11kV feeders is due to a faulty power transformer at Oke Afa injection substation. Supply will remain affected until repair is completed, impacting 90% of our customers,” the company stated via text messages.
The Ikotun outage coincides with another collapse of Nigeria’s national grid on Wednesday, which plunged large parts of the country into darkness. By 6 p.m., operators had restored roughly 1,505 megawatts, but many DisCos and residents remained without power.
Labour groups, including the Nigerian Labour Congress, condemned the Federal Government for poor infrastructure investment, inadequate planning, and weak maintenance of the national electricity system.