Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are groaning under the biting negative effects of consistent power outages, disrupting daily life, businesses, and economic activities.
Although epileptic power supply has been a problem since the country’s independence, the current dimension of prolonged darkness in the FCT has sent many tongues wagging, prompting calls for urgent intervention from FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for him to declare a state of emergency in the electricity supply in the FCT.
A resident of Kubwa village, Mrs Florence Ishiaku lamented that for close to a week many areas in the satellite town have been plagued by an intermittent power supply, with some neighbourhoods experiencing prolonged outages lasting up to 72 hours.
“The situation has led to increased insecurity in the area, mostly the market and Biazyn area of the Kubwa village, because most hoodlums around the area operate in the dark to perpetrate evil at night.
“Also, it has led to the loss of businesses and revenue from small scale businesses in the area and even disruption of healthcare services in Kubwa general hospital and health centre,” she said.
A resident of the Dawaki community and business owner, Mohammed Hassan also appealed to the minister to address the root causes of the power crisis, ensure prompt maintenance of existing infrastructure, and explore sustainable solutions.
“We cannot continue to live in darkness. The minister must take decisive action to restore a reliable power supply. We trust what he can do as a performing minister. We are appealing that he declares a state of emergency on the electricity supply in the FCT, just like what he has done on infrastructure.
“We know that if he does that, the electricity supply in the FCT will increase and businesses will thrive again. He is a minister with developmental vision and he can bring solutions to this challenge if he decides to,” he said.
The residents believe that FCT’s rapid growth and expanding population underscore the need for a robust and efficient electricity infrastructure.
“We believe that the present power infrastructure in the FCT has been overstretched because of the daily influx of people into the FCT, who come to reside permanently. That is why the power supply has been epileptic for a long time now.
“We are appealing to the FCT Minister to conduct an urgent assessment of the FCT’s power infrastructure. To Collaborate with relevant agencies to address maintenance and upgrade needs.
“He should also explore alternative energy sources and innovative solutions and provide relief to affected residents and businesses. We believe that if this is done, it will not only improve the living standard of residents, it would also improve the FCT economy,” Mohammed said.
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