RESIDENTS LAMENT 12-DAY BLACKOUT AT LAGOS AIR FORCE BASE CAUSED BY DISCO
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Residents of Sam Ethnan Air Force Base in Ikeja, Lagos, are lamenting a 12-day power outage that has disrupted businesses and caused water shortages in the barracks.
In separate interviews on Monday, residents said the prolonged blackout had forced them to buy water from cart pushers at high prices.
Our correspondent gathered that power outages had been an ongoing challenge in the area.
A resident, identified simply as Precious, said small businesses, including tailoring shops, grocery stores, and laundries, had been severely impacted.
She added that residents had resorted to using generators despite barracks regulations prohibiting them.
Precious said, “We have been experiencing the blackout for almost two weeks. The situation has not been palatable because we cannot carry out our trades again. I am a tailor and I cannot work because of the blackout, the same with others.
“Some people are now defying the order of the Nigerian Air Force authority against the use of generators because they have no choice. Essential service traders have also been affected and this has been recurring for a while now.”
Another resident, Tutu Adeboye, stated that water supply in the barracks was restricted to just 30 minutes daily, from 6:00 to 6:30 am, which she said was inadequate for residents’ needs.
She added that many residents had been forced to buy water from cart pushers at N4,000 per gallon.
She said, “The situation is worse. There is no water and we have to get water from these truck pushers for N4,000 per gallon. The barracks authority only supplies water between 6 am and 6:30 am daily. For 12 days now, there is no light.
“This is not the first time we experienced a blackout but it seems there is no solution. The last time we had a blackout, it was resolved and electricity was supplied back on a ration basis. But, for two weeks now, there has been no light at all.”
Another resident who did not want to be mentioned in print noted that the blackout was caused by the debt being owed to the Ikeja Electricty Distribution Company by the barracks authority.
The resident said, “What we learnt is that the barracks is owing the electricity company, which is why they disconnected the supply. The AOC visited the barracks recently, but nothing was done about the situation.”
When reached for comment, Kingsley Okotie, Head of Corporate Communications at Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, declined to address the issue.
He emphasized that the barracks is a government facility classified as a separate customer with a designated communication protocol.
“I can not react to it because the barracks is a military institution, and they are a separate customer. We have a procedureof communication when it concerns government institutions. If there is a problem, there is a procedure through which we communicate,” Okotie said.
When contacted on Monday, Nigerian Air Force spokesperson Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame did not respond to calls or text messages at the time of reporting.
In July 2024, the Ikeja Air Force Base also experienced a power outage, leaving residents struggling to access water.
While the community primarily houses military personnel and their families, civilians are allowed to run businesses, including dry cleaning services, grocery stores, salons, and eateries.
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