KEY POINTS
- Lagos’s Governor’s Road residents protested a 10-day blackout, citing hardship and poor communication.
- Ikeja Electric blamed a faulty transformer at Oke Afa substation, affecting 90% of its customers.
- Residents demanded explanations, timelines, and infrastructure protection as frustration mounts over power reliability.
Residents of Governor’s Road in the Ikotun area of Lagos have staged a protest against Ikeja Electric, accusing the power distributor of neglect and poor communication after more than 10 days of total blackout left homes and businesses paralyzed.
The community, located in Alimosho, Lagos’s most populous local government area, said the outage has disrupted daily life and imposed heavy costs on families and entrepreneurs who have been forced to rely on generators and other alternative power sources.
Engr. Emmanuel Joseph, chairman of Igando Peace Estate Phase IV CDA, spoke on behalf of the residents in a formal complaint addressed to Ikeja Electric’s management. “This prolonged blackout has caused untold hardship to households and businesses, disrupted daily activities, and subjected existing electrical infrastructure within our community to potential damage,” the letter read.
Frustration grows over lack of communication
Nigeria’s brittle electrical grid frequently experiences power outages, but locals claim that Ikeja Electric’s silence has made the disruption worse. The company was accused by the community leaders of not giving adequate justifications, restoration schedules, or guarantees regarding the steps being taken to protect distribution assets like cables and transformers.
The residents asked the power company to provide three things right away: a detailed explanation of the blackout, an estimated restoration time, and details on the precautions taken to guard against damage or vandalism to the infrastructure.
“The absence of communication has created uncertainty, leaving consumers in the dark—literally and figuratively,” Joseph said, stressing that the lack of updates has deepened mistrust between the company and its customers.
In its response, Ikeja Electric said the blackout stemmed from a faulty transformer at the Oke Afa injection substation, which serves the area. The company admitted that the breakdown had disrupted supply across all its 11kV feeders and was affecting 90% of its customers.
“Kindly note that this will continue until repair is completed,” the company said, promising to improve its communication framework to keep customers better informed during prolonged outages.
