A widespread power outage has affected the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Nigeria, along with 52 other locations, due to technical faults in some feeders owned by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).
The outage, which occurred on Friday, has impacted several areas, including CKC Gwagwalada, Kuje Road, Almat Farms, Kiran Farm, Efugo, and Kwali Road, among others.
In a statement, the AEDC appealed to its customers to be patient while its engineers work to restore electricity to the affected areas as soon as possible.
“This incident is regrettable, and we apologize for the inconvenience it has caused,” the statement read. “Our engineers are working tirelessly to identify the root cause of the problem and restore power to the affected areas.”
This incident is the latest in a series of technical outages caused by dilapidated feeders. Recently, at least 188 locations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) experienced power outages and blackouts due to technical faults in AEDC’s feeders over a two-month period.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has criticized electricity distribution companies for focusing on short-term profits at the expense of long-term investments, leading to a decay of infrastructure in the electricity sector.
“The current state of our electricity infrastructure is unacceptable,” Adelabu said. “We need to invest in modernizing our grid and ensuring that our distribution companies have the resources they need to provide reliable power to our citizens.”
The frequent power outages have sparked concerns among residents and businesses, who have called for urgent attention to the electricity infrastructure in the country.
“This is not the first time we’ve experienced a power outage in this area,” said Mrs. Aisha Mohammed, a resident of one of the affected areas. “It’s frustrating because it disrupts our daily lives and affects our businesses. We need a reliable power supply, and we need it now.”
As the government works to address the issue, residents are advised to remain patient and take necessary precautions to ensure their safety during the outage.
In the meantime, the AEDC has promised to provide updates on the restoration efforts and has urged customers to report any further outages or issues to their customer service hotline.
