Abuja Blackout: Landlords Plan Protest as Residents Suffer Losses

Residents of several areas in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have complained about prolonged power outages that have disrupted businesses, water supply and other daily activities, as landlords’ associations prepare to stage a protest on Monday if electricity is not restored.

Residents of Kubwa, Dutse, Bwari, Garki and other parts of Abuja said the persistent blackout had caused financial losses, affected household activities and left many struggling to access basic services.

Fatima Muhammad, a resident of Kubwa, said the power outage had disrupted her household and baking business. She explained that she had run out of water because she could not operate her pumping machine, while some of her baked products had spoilt due to the lack of electricity.

Muhammad said the situation had caused her financial losses and made it difficult to carry out her daily activities.

Other residents have expressed frustration on social media, questioning the response of electricity authorities and calling for a quicker restoration of supply.

Peace Kanu PIAK, a user on X, said her area in Dutse had been without electricity for two days before she saw an update about the situation. She appealed to the technical team of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to speed up efforts to restore power.

Another user, Christian, criticised the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), saying residents had endured five days without electricity and that complaints should be addressed more promptly.

A resident identified as Nazeerah said parts of Area 8 in Garki had experienced a power outage lasting three weeks, describing the situation as unfair and overwhelming.

Another user, BLVCKK, questioned the consistency of electricity supply to customers paying for Band A service. The user complained that supply appeared to follow a pattern of one day with electricity followed by another without it, raising concerns about possible rationing rather than isolated faults.

Dane Doug also expressed frustration over the blackout, while Mark Itsibor complained about prolonged outages in Bwari, the Nigerian Law School area, Ushafa, Bmuko and Dutse. Itsibor accused the electricity authorities of failing to resolve the problem despite days of disruption.

Landlords’ associations in Ushafa, Dutse and Kubwa are planning to protest on Monday if the situation remains unresolved.

The complaints come amid separate explanations from TCN and AEDC regarding disruptions affecting different parts of the capital.

TCN announced on Wednesday that it had scheduled maintenance work at its 132/33kV Kubwa Substation. The company said the exercise would affect electricity supply to AEDC customers in Kubwa, Bwari, Army Resettlement, parts of Dutse Alhaji and neighbouring communities during the maintenance period.

On Friday, AEDC informed customers in several parts of the FCT that a technical fault on TCN’s 330kV Shiroro-Katampe transmission line was responsible for the disruption they were experiencing.

The affected locations listed by the distribution company included Garki, parts of Apo, Asokoro, Wuse Zones 1 and 2, Wuye, Jabi, Utako, Jahi, Life Camp, Gwarinpa, Kubwa, Dawaki, Dutse, Dei-Dei, Suleja and surrounding areas.

AEDC said TCN’s technical team was working to repair the fault and restore stability to the national grid. It assured customers that electricity supply would return to the affected areas once the transmission line had been cleared.

The prolonged outages have also raised questions about recent assurances concerning improvements in electricity supply.

In September, Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe said some consumers had asked him to slow down following improvements in supply. He made the remarks at the commissioning of a three-megawatt solar hybrid power project at the University of Abuja.

Tegbe said some areas that had previously gone without electricity for months were receiving up to 18 hours of supply. He also recounted complaints from residents who said their freezers were working continuously following the improvement.

The latest complaints, however, show that residents in several parts of the FCT are still facing extended interruptions, with affected communities awaiting the restoration of a reliable power supply.