Imokun Community Marks One Year in Total Blackout

For the people of Imokun in Eredo LCDA, Epe, Lagos State, darkness has become a way of life. Residents have endured a 12-month-long blackout after their only power source, a 500 kVA transformer, broke down in September 2023.

                                 

Now, more than 800 households are trapped in worsening living conditions, with businesses collapsing and families spending heavily on alternative power.

Speaking on behalf of the community, Comrade Olufowobi Eniafe described how the failed transformer has crippled both social and economic activities.

Key challenges include:

• Over 800 houses left without electricity for a full year.

• Traders and students forced to relocate or shut down businesses.

• Families spending up to N8,000 nightly on fuel just to power generators.

• Shops closing because owners cannot afford petrol at current prices.

“This is the twelfth month without electricity. A private company told us repairs would cost N8 million, which is far beyond what ordinary residents here can raise,” Eniafe explained.

Residents say the blackout has pushed them into deeper hardship amid Nigeria’s rising cost of living.

“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,” Eniafe lamented.

Repeated appeals to government officials have yielded little response. The only significant intervention came in June 2024, when Hon. Monsuru Akinloye, chairman of Eredo LCDA, provided a transformer, but it was given to another part of the community, not Imokun.

“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.

The residents are now calling directly on the Lagos State government and well-meaning Nigerians to step in.

“If light is restored today, thousands of people will breathe a sigh of relief. It will bring back life to this community,” Eniafe added.