RESIDENTS OF LAGOS EXPRESS FRUSTRATION OVER PROLONGED BLACKOUT, CRITICIZE IKEDC
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By: Fasasi Hammad
Residents of Waterfront Estate, Sekumade Estate, and NBC Community in Ebute, Ikorodu LGA, Lagos State, staged a peaceful protest on Friday to express frustration over what they described as an eight-month-long power outage.
The demonstrators gathered at the Ikorodu Business District office of Ikeja Electric, blocking entry to the facility and disrupting operations for several hours.
Holding placards with messages such as, “IKEDC! You are supposed to be an agent of light, not an agent of darkness,” “Eight months in darkness. Enough is enough. Restore our light,” and “We burn fuel to run the generator for six months,” the residents highlighted the severe hardships caused by the prolonged blackout.
According to the protesters, the outage began in August 2025 after the sole transformer serving the three estates developed a fault and was not replaced. Despite multiple attempts to engage Ikeja Electric officials, they claimed no meaningful action had been taken.
Moshood Aderibigbe, one of the protesters, accused the company of insincerity, saying the demonstration was the result of months of unmet promises. He noted, “Before we protested, we had two meetings with Ikeja Electric officials to fix or replace our transformer, but nothing was done. Even our women and councillor went to the Alausa head office in January, and they promised a response in three weeks. As of now, nothing has happened. Enough is enough. Our businesses and livelihoods have collapsed. Those who can afford fuel are bearing huge costs.”
The residents explained that artisans, traders, and small business owners have suffered significant losses, while households face rising costs to run generators.
During the protest, a company official tried to speak to the crowd, but the residents insisted on addressing only the Ikorodu Business Manager. Although the manager briefly arrived, he left without engaging with the protesters, escalating tensions.
Later, a senior Ikeja Electric officer, speaking anonymously, expressed sympathy for the residents and acknowledged that previous interventions had not resolved the issue. He explained that repairing or replacing faulty transformers is a procedural process that takes time.
The official stated, “We are working to restore power to your estates as quickly as possible. While you may not see the effort, we are also losing revenue as a company. Currently, there are about 300 faulty transformers across Ikorodu, and we can only repair or replace them one at a time.”
He assured the residents that restoration efforts would be expedited and promised to liaise with the head office to provide a clear timeline. He further committed to meeting representatives of the affected communities on Thursday, March 5, to give an update on progress.
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