Epe Community Cries Out Over Year-Long Blackout

By Emiola Osifeso

Residents of Imokun in Eredo Local Council Development Area, Epe, Lagos State, have cried out over a year-long blackout that has plunged more than 800 households into darkness and crippled economic life in the community.

The crisis began in September 2023 when the community’s only power source, a 500 kVA transformer, broke down. Since then, repeated attempts to restore electricity have failed, leaving residents in worsening conditions and forcing some to relocate. Traders, students, and families have endured what they describe as unbearable hardship as the blackout stretches into its twelfth month.

Stakeholder and community leader, Comrade Olufowobi Eniafe, speaking on behalf of the residents, said the situation has devastated social and economic activities in the student-populated area. “This is the twelfth month without electricity. The transformer serves more than 800 houses. A private company told us repairs would cost N8 million, which is far beyond what ordinary residents here can raise,” he explained.

The prolonged outage has left many struggling with skyrocketing expenses for alternative power. “People are struggling under the current economic realities. Buying petrol or gas at today’s price is a daily battle. Businesses are shutting down because most shop owners cannot fuel generators. In my house alone, we spend around N8,000 every night on fuel just to have light,” Eniafe lamented.

Despite repeated appeals to elected representatives, residents say they have received little or no response. The only intervention came in June 2024, when Eredo LCDA Chairman, Hon. Monsuru Akinloye, donated a transformer to a different part of the community, leaving Imokun residents still in the dark.

“Apart from the chairman’s intervention, none of our legislators have answered our letters, calls, or messages. People here feel abandoned, like we don’t matter,” Eniafe said, stressing the growing sense of neglect in the community.

As the blackout threatens to stretch into a second year, residents are appealing to the Lagos State government and well-meaning Nigerians for urgent intervention. “If light is restored today, thousands of people will breathe a sigh of relief. It will bring back life to this community,” Eniafe pleaded.