Residents of Ogunbowale, Taiwo, and Adegbola streets in the Ilasamaja area of Lagos have raised concerns over a prolonged blackout that has lasted for over a month, warning that the situation is exposing the area to burglary and economic hardship.

The residents, who spoke exclusively with PUNCH Metro on Tuesday, said the transformer serving the community had developed a fault around late March which prompted the Ikeja Electric to pick it up for repairs.

According to them, repeated visits to Ikeja Electric’s Okota office to know what the update on the repair was and when it will be fixed have yielded no tangible results, as officials reportedly continue to assure them that efforts are ongoing without providing a timeline.

A resident, Tayo Adedayo, lamented the situation, saying, “We have been in darkness for over a month and every effort we have made has yielded no results.”

Adebayo added that responses from the distribution company have remained the same.

“Any time we visit the Okota office of Ikeja Electric, the ready-made answer is ‘we are working on it’,” he said.

A trader who identified simply as Elizabeth said the blackout has affected daily living and business activities.

She noted that the intense heat has made it difficult to sleep, while businesses dependent on electricity have suffered losses.

“The blackout has really affected me. Many businesses are grounded because people need cold drinks and water, and those of us selling them have no sales. Hairdressers, barbers, welders — they are all running at a loss, and the fuel price hike has made it worse,” she said.

She also warned that the prolonged outage could heighten insecurity in the area.

Elizabeth further disclosed that the community had written letters, sent emails, and even protested during visits by government officials, but nothing has changed.

She said, “As for security, blackout exposes most people’s shops and homes to theft or being burgled, especially during the nighttime.

“I am aware that the community has written letters and mails to the distribution company, and we even protested when the deputy governor and local government chairman came around some time ago.

“My appeal to the electricity authorities is to do something fast about it because it is no longer funny and we cannot continue folding our arms and keeping quiet. I guess it is because we have not been given prepaid meters that is why we are being treated this way.”

Another resident, Babatunde Gabriel, said the situation has forced residents to take extra security measures to prevent theft of electrical infrastructure.

“We now have to watch over the IE upriser cable from being stolen. We have reached out to Ikeja Electric management, but they just keep promising without a specific time to restore power,” he said.

He urged the company to treat residents with urgency and empathy, adding, “We want them to treat us like human beings and show a human face.”

When contacted for a reaction on Tuesday, the Head of Corporate Communications at Ikeja Electric, Kingsley Okotie, appealed to residents of the affected communities to exercise patience.

He noted that since the agency had taken the faulty transformer for repair, it would be returned as soon as possible.

“We are not happy that potential customers who would help the company to drive revenue are left in that situation. Within the shortest possible time, it will be returned.

“We are appealing to them to exercise a little bit of patience with us and we will fix it very soon,” Okotie said. (PUNCH)

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