11-month blackout cripples businesses in Kwali, Abaji communities

Socio-economic and business activities have been severely crippled in parts of Kwali and neighbouring Abaji Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) following the absence of electricity in the areas for over 11 months. Abuja Metro recalls that suspected hoodlums vandalised high-tension cables mounted on electric poles along the Kwali-Abaji-Abuja-Lokoja highway in March last […]

Socio-economic and business activities have been severely crippled in parts of Kwali and neighbouring Abaji Area Councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) following the absence of electricity in the areas for over 11 months.
Abuja Metro recalls that suspected hoodlums vandalised high-tension cables mounted on electric poles along the Kwali-Abaji-Abuja-Lokoja highway in March last year, plunging several communities in Kwali and parts of Abaji town into darkness.
Findings revealed that several businesses, including welding, tailoring, hairdressing and barbing salons, cold drink and sachet water sales, as well as frozen fish businesses, have been badly affected across communities in both Kwali and Abaji area councils.
It was also observed that many residents who rely on electrical appliances such as electric irons have resorted to using charcoal irons.
Mr Abduljalil Musa, a welder in Wako community, told our reporter on Monday that his business had been paralysed by the prolonged power outage.
He said he could no longer afford the cost of fueling his large generator to carry out welding jobs due to the high price of petrol, a situation that forced him to shut down his workshop.
“About two months ago, I got a contract to produce some window frames. I bought fuel to do the work, but in the end, I could not even recover the money I spent on fuel, let alone make profit,” he said.
According to him, with the rainy season fully underway, he and members of his family have now turned to farming in order to survive.
“I realised that instead of staying idle without work, it was better for me to start going to the farm with my children until when electricity is restored because I need to feed my family,” he added.
An ice fish seller in Abaji, Mrs Ibironke Musbahu, also lamented the impact of the blackout on her business, saying the amount she spends on diesel to power her cold room is beyond her means.
She explained that she now buys ice blocks from a supplier in Gwagwalada to preserve the little quantity of fish she sells daily, adding that the business no longer yields much profit as before.
Mrs Musbahu added that many of her customers from neighbouring communities such as Rubochi, Toto, Gadabuke and Yaba now travel to Suleja to buy frozen fish.
A dry cleaner in Kwaita community, Mr Isaac Abednego, said he was forced to shut down his business because of the high cost of fueling his generator to iron clothes.
“In fact, even after increasing the cost of ironing a kaftan and trousers from N400 to N600, I still could not recover the money spent on fuel. That was why I decided to close the shop and start farming,” he said.
Similarly, a resident of the Abattoir area in Abaji, Miss Rebecca Ayuba, who operates a hairdressing salon, said the blackout has made business extremely difficult.
She said despite buying between five and seven litres of fuel daily, she hardly makes any profit at the end of the day.
“If I knew how to farm, I would have closed the salon and gone into farming because the amount I spend daily on fuel is almost more than what I earn,” she said.
A resident of Kwali Area Council and senior civil servant, Mr Michael Dangana, said the prolonged outage has affected not only businesses but also access to potable water in the affected communities.
He noted that many households with boreholes could no longer pump water because of the lack of electricity, leaving only a few residents who can afford generators to supply water to their neighbours.
“In my house, I buy about seven litres of fuel every day just to run my generator and pump water for neighbours to fetch. If you calculate the cost for 30 days, it is huge. If there was electricity, we would not be spending such money on fuel,” he said.
He appealed to the authorities of both Kwali and Abaji area councils to work together to replace the vandalised cables and restore electricity to the affected communities.
“I learnt that the Kwali chairman had replaced some cables months ago, but hoodlums went back and vandalised them again,” he added.
Our reporter also gathered that the chairman of Abaji Area Council, Hon. Abubakar Umar Abdullahi, had earlier replaced vandalised cables between Piri, Kwaita and Wako communities, but the installations were again destroyed by vandals.
Reacting to the situation, the Supervisory Councillor for Works in Abaji Area Council, Bashir Musa, said the council chairman had made several efforts to restore electricity to the area since last year, but persistent vandalism continued to frustrate the intervention.
“In fact, because of the activities of vandals, the chairman even explored the possibility of connecting Abaji to the Kogi electricity network to ensure stable power supply, but some issues later stalled the plan,” he said.
He added that after consultations with experts, the council was considering alternative power solutions, including solar energy.
“Following a series of consultations, the chairman is now looking at the possibility of introducing a solar power system, although some people are still opposed to the idea. Nevertheless, the council is making efforts to ensure electricity is restored to Abaji,” he said.
Also speaking, a senior official in the Works Department of Kwali Area Council, Mr Benjamin Audu, said the council chairman was liaising with the management of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) to find lasting solutions to the outage.
“Even before now, the chairman had replaced some cables, but hoodlums returned to vandalise them again, although some suspects were arrested,” he said.