Masaka Residents Decry Prolonged Power Outage
Residents of Masaka, a suburban community in Nasarawa State under the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) franchise, have decried a prolonged power outage that has crippled businesses, heightened mortality rates, and forced many to abandon their homes.
The blackout, now in its third month, began in April 2025 after a windstorm reportedly destroyed over 100 electricity poles between Gora Town and the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) camp near Keffi.
The damaged stretch, which AEDC says falls in a non-residential corridor, has remained unattended since.
Mr Simon Alome, a resident and medical laboratory operator, lamented the collapse of healthcare services.
“When the storm felled the poles, AEDC quickly detached their cables. That alone was a signal that they had no intention of restoring power soon,” Alome said.
He added that he now runs his lab entirely on a generator, pushing up service costs.
“Ordinarily, a Widal test would cost N3,500, but because of the cost of fuel, we are now charging our patients N5,000. The same goes for other tests,” he lamented.
Also, Madam Patience Nana, who runs a cold room business, said she has not been able to operate since the blackout began.
Her last consignment of fish perished in the outage, leaving her with heavy losses.
“The last business I did was a complete loss because people’s goods went bad. I cannot continue to preserve my goods with generators because of the cost of fuel. My customers complain when I pass on the cost to them.
“They complain that my business is costly and they can no longer patronise me. I also live in Masaka, and I can tell you for free that the situation has been hellish.
“Ironically, the last bill they brought to us for May was ₦19,000 for each house on the estimated billing system. When we complained, they told us that it was a technical glitch which would be corrected in the subsequent bills. That was before the total blackout in April,” she said.
Amid public outrage, Chief Princewill Okorie, National President of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Executive Director of the Consumer Protection Advocacy Centre, called for the removal of the Minister of Power.
“We have been calling for the removal of the Minister of Power, and the government looks away. The government that believes in extorting the citizens it should protect. It’s worrisome. This is not only extortion; it’s killing the economy of the country.
“Most people cannot work again. They increased the price of fuel; they increased the price of diesel; they increased the price of gas; they increased the price of electricity. How can these people survive?
“At the same time, you are complaining of insecurity. How can people survive? Is it not fraudulent? And they are looking for criminals elsewhere,” he lamented.
However, efforts to reach AEDC for comments proved abortive. Its spokesperson, Mrs Adefisanyo Akinsanya, claimed ignorance of the Masaka outage and promised to follow up. As of press time, she had not responded.
Masaka Residents Decry Prolonged Power Outage is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
