Residents of Azugwu in Abakaliki local government area of Ebonyi State yesterday staged a peaceful protest within Abakaliki, the state capital, over months of power blackout in the area and negligence on the part of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) to restore power in the area.
The protesters, mostly men and youths who described the attitude of the electricity company as economic sabotage, disrupted vehicular movements within the area to press home their demand for restoration of power to the area.
One of the protesters and the councilor representing Azugwu/Azumili Ward 6 in Abakaliki local government area, Mr Emeka Ikegwu expressed sadness over the 3-month power outage adding that the situation has crippled business activities in the area.
Mr Ikegwu called on the distribution company to urgently restore power to the area to avoid any breakdown of law and order in the area as the people are already frustrated and are agitated.
He maintained that what they carried out yesterday was a warning protest and would not hesitate to use other legal means to ensure that the EEDC lives up to its responsibilities.
Azugwu is one of the commercial centres within the Abakaliki metropolis. Many of the businesses in the area are all crippled as people are relocating in their numbers.
