Residents of Kogi have cried out that epileptic power supply is fuelling insecurity in the state.
Speaking to DAILY POST on Tuesday against the backdrop of blackout in 19 northern states, they lamented that many businesses have shut down due to lack of power supply.
Sunday Ichaba, a resident of Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, said, “It tells about the country we found ourselves. Instead of improving or upgrading, we are degrading which is not giving Nigeria a better reputation. It is very bad because of this issue.
“We are still battling with the skyrocketing prices of food and the exorbitant bills from distribution companies. Over 80 percent of Nigerian use electricity for their businesses but they are not seeing the power to use.
“The bogus and outrageous bills from the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC, is a nightmare. For instance, I am living in one bedroom flat, without any big equipment in my house. They are giving me a bill of N18,000 in a month and there is no light.
“And they say there is democracy in Nigeria. Where is the democracy? Democracy means a government that will lessen the suffering of the people but in our case in Nigeria, the reverse is the case.”
He called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene immediately before the situation gets out of hand.
Continuing, he said, “Many shops have been shut down because there is no light. It is affecting the living conditions of the people. Because there is no light to illuminate the night, armed robbers have taken over the streets. It is an avenue for criminals to take over.
“In recent times, along Barracks Road, some criminals came to the estate and went away with people’s cars. Our leaders must sit up, especially the Federal Government that is in charge of power supply.”
A hotelier, Solomon Atabo, told DAILY POST that he has been running on loses as a result of the epileptic power supply in Kogi State.
According to him, “The current issue of power in Lokoja has really affected my business. As an hotelier, you are not expecting customers to sleep in the dark. When there is no light, you must switch on your generator set steadily till dawn because you don’t know when customers will come.
“It has really affected my business in the sense that I invest more than what am getting. In a day, I do spend over N30,000 for fuel and am not getting the money. The government should do something quickly because are are really suffering.”
On his part, the Executive Director, Initiative for Grassroot Advancement, (INGRA), Hamza Aliyu carpeted the Federal Government for paying lip service to the power sector.
He urged the states and local governments to look into issues around rural electrification to address the epileptic power supply in the country.
“It is no longer news that absence of electricity is fueling insecurity across the country.
“Many businesses have gone down amidst the current economic hardship. It is important for the government to do the needful to ameliorate the sufferings of the masses,” he stated.
Epileptic power supply fuelling insecurity in Kogi – Residents cry out