Maiduguri residents, businesses in blackouts over damaged electricity tower

*Residents and businesses in Maiduguri, in Borno State of Nigeria, condemned the action of the insurgents that destroyed the electricity tower from the national grid, and subsequent inability of the authorities concern to restore the power for over a week

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

Following the reported destruction of one of the towers supplying electricity to the capital city, and subsequent inability of the concerned authorities to restore power supply, businesses and residents of the capital city of Maiduguri, in Borno State of Nigeria, and environs, have been thrown into blackouts.

The Boko Haram insurgents were said to have destroyed the electricity tower from the national grid.

The blackouts, for over a week, have grounded many businesses that rely on power, and those operating on power generators are managing to render skeletal services, says agency report.

Some residents, who spoke on the development not only condemned the action of the insurgents, but lamented the continued inability of the authorities concern to restore the power.

Ibrahim Abubakar, a resident, said: “It’s now one week and most people don’t know why there is no electricity in Maiduguri.

“We need to know what caused it and efforts by the power company to address the matter.

“You can’t leave people in darkness without explanation.’’

Moses Bala, who is a welder, said the development had grounded his business because he solely depends on electricity from the national grid for his work.

Bala stated: “Because of steady supply over the months, I solely depend on power from government and now that there is no power for one week; I remain out of business.

“I can’t afford a generator as I am still young in this business.’’

Nonetheless, the resident appealed to the concerned authorities to expedite action to restore the electricity.

Certain Musa Idris, Sahabi Abdulrahman, Amina Bello and Talatu Musa, who also lamented the power outage on their small businesses, said they did not know the cause of the power outage.

They said that they would want something to be done urgently to ameliorate their plight.

Mr. Kingsley Nkemneme Corporate Communication Manager of Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) in charge of Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Taraba states, said he could not comment because the problem has to do with Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), report stated.

Nkemneme noted: “The TCN is in a better position to comment on this as the problem is not about distribution but transmission.’’

This current incident concerning destruction of the electricity tower is the second time in three months that insurgents would be attacking the power transmission line in Maiduguri, report added.

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