Amid Heatwave, Power Collapses in Abuja as AEDC Management Struggles, Residents Lament

• Abuja is experiencing erratic power supply, with some areas only getting two hours of power supply per day
• The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has offered little or no explanation for the issue.
• Residents have complained bitterly about the poor power supply, with some blaming the new management for running the company to maximize profit instead of investing heavily

FCT, Abuja - The power supply in Abuja has become extremely erratic amid the current heatwave being experienced across the country.

Legit.ng gathered that most parts of the city centre and satellite towns in Abuja hardly get 2 hours of power supply in a day.

But the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has offered little or no explanation for the development.

Tailor, other residents lament power failure

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Most residents have complained bitterly about the poor power supply in the nation's capital, stating that it was a massive failure on the part of the energy managers.

When Legit.ng visited Obasanjo Road in Dutse Boupma, the people lamented that the power supply in the area was becoming worse by the day. A tailor identified as Ronz told Legit.ng:

"I have not been able to complete my job for the past five days now. No light at all and nobody can explain to us what is happening. I hear they are rationing the light, but quite frankly, there is no light to ration."

Abuja power crisis blamed on new management

A top AEDC staff who pleaded to remain anonymous told Legit.ng that the issue is related to poor management.

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According to him, since the new management took over control of the company, power distribution has been a major issue.

He alleged that the new owner is United Bank for Africa (UBA) and that they prefer to run the company in such a way that they can maximize profit

"I think the issue is from the UBA, the new owners. They want to run the company like their banking business. They believe money should start coming in almost immediately not knowing that they need to invest heavily and wait for slow profits.

"In the whole of Ushafa in Abuja, I can count the transformers that are currently in good condition. The majority of them are bad and cannot serve the community they are meant to serve. 90 per cent of the transformers in Ushafa are rationed."

This is not the Abuja I used to know, journalist laments

Going further to Kubwa, a female journalist with an online newspaper who prefers not to be mentioned lamented the current power problem being experienced in the FCT, saying that despite the situation, people are going about their normal businesses as if nothing is happening.

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According to her:

"Since the past three days, we have seen light in the 2.1 area of Kubwa for only four hours. And that is even a good number. Most times, we don't see at all. This doesn't look like the Abuja that I used to know. Abuja has changed."

Most businesses in Dutse, Kubwa, and Ushafa have now resolved to embark on skeletal services due to the current poor power supply.

How faulty transmission line complicates Abuja power problem

The power problem has been complicated following the general rationing due to a faulty transmission line.

Another source in the top hierarchy of the AEDC told our correspondent that while Ushafa, Bwari, and Dutse are expected to get 6 hours' supply daily, the internal rationing within the localities would not allow residents to enjoy such.

He said the same 6 hours is rationed between Mpape and Ushafa. According to him:

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"Even in Ushafa, enjoying the little we get is difficult. This is because no transformer in the community is working optimally. Almost all of them are being rationed.

When Legit.ng sought the response of the AEDC by contacting the office of the managing director, Mr Adeoye Fadeyibi, all numbers were not responding.

But as at the last check on Tuesday, April 4, the power problem in FCT has reached a terrible height, leaving customers to grumble.

Mr Anothony Ojotu who lives in Kubwa said:

"I have lost everything in the fridge. This is not good at all. Why not just shut down the company if it has become this ineffective? What is the government doing?

"Imagine the heat. My brother, you can only imagine what business people are going through in Abuja at the moment.

"What exactly is the issue that they cannot fix?"

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Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria's poor electricity supply put it behind seemingly smaller countries with less Gross Domestic Product {GDP) in Africa.

Electricity supply remains the fulcrum of national development in any country and many African countries are lacking in providing this basic and all-important amenity for their teeming population.

All across the continent, billions of people live in darkness or have epileptic power supply and are unable to get access to electricity for household use.

Source: Legit.ng