Lekki Conservation Estates residents decry epileptic power supply, slam EKEDC
No fewer than 100 residents of estates surrounding the Lekki Conservation Centre, Lagos State, have voiced concerns over epileptic power supply in the area, saying it has impoverished families and businesses within the community.
The residents, under the aegis of Lekki Conservation Estates Development Association, LECECODA, (Orchid Road and Environs) lamented that despite numerous engagements with Eko Electricity Distribution Company, EKEDC, for over three years, there has been unreliable power supply and even a total blackout in some areas.
Addressing newsmen at a demonstration held to express their dissatisfaction with EKEDC on Saturday morning, the association’s President, Mr. Osas Airen lamented that despite having about 200 estates and over 5,000 homes and businesses within and around the Orchid Road axis, they were being neglected.
He appealed to the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency, NEMSA, the Lagos State government, Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, and EKEDC to find a permanent solution to the problem.
Airen said: “We have been having conversations with EKEDC bordering on poor power supply since 2020, yet it has been a topsy turvy. At a point, the federal government came in with a willing-buyer-willing-seller programme into which we keyed. After a while, it was dismantled; and after that, the electricity situation worsened.
“Over the last two years and half, we have been having a series of engagements with the EKEDC, more than 15 meetings, yet power supply has been abysmal. Not just that, but while we were on Band A, we were given Band Z services. After expressing our frustrations, we were moved to Band B, yet we hardly have two hours of power supply. This has been ongoing for over two years.
“We are appealing to the NEMSA, Lagos State government, TCN, and EKEDC. From what we gathered, TCN has not been able to give us the requisite size of transformer needed to power this neighbourhood. All we want is a dedicated line. We are prepaid customers, we pay before using. Therefore, we do not owe EKEDC. What we are asking for is equity, justice and fairplay. Businesses have crumbled. For the Lafiaji community, there has been no power for over two years.”
Also speaking, Vice President of the association, Bode Akinwande, demanded that the new transformer brought in be energized for residents’ use.
“We are pleading with EKEDC to give us what we want so that businesses can thrive, and homes can enjoy electricity. At the moment, what we get is less than two hours daily. We are pleading that the new transformer brought in be energised for residents’ use.”
Barrister Ejiro Owede, a member of Lececoda Power Committee noted: “In the past 4 years that I have lived in Orchid Road, I have witnessed how the Power Supply to this community has gone from bad to worse, to terrible, to the extent that the plight of your customers in this axis when it rains is same as that of a Block making Industry. Once we have the slighted rain drops, power goes out and doesn’t come back for days. In the past 3 years, I have not known what it feels like to have electricity when it rains. This means that during the entire time of Rainy Season, we have zero expectation of power, and that’s only a tip of the iceberg of the terrible state of power supply.
“We have been in numerous meetings with your management team where we, the members of the power committee are pulled out of our day Jobs to come and join your Team to find solutions to power Supply. This ought not to be. In the various meetings, we have had lofty promises, but rather than have an improvement, things have only gone worse.
“It is appalling that you’d take for granted such a huge Market of over 200 Estates, over 5,000 Homes, and hundreds of businesses in this society. Your Slogan is “Improving the Quality of Lives”, but in fact,e what you have successfully done to customers who invest in your business by ensuring, by virtue of the Bulk Metering Systems employed by the Estates on this Axis to ensure you enjoy the most minimal Revenue Loss amongst all thr Discos in the country, is to rather IMPOVERISH their Lives. Causing Disorganization in Estates as a result of the Estate Managements having to focus their primary source of Power on Expensive Diesel to power their Generators.
Mr Temi Ofuya, a member of the community, who also addressed newsmen, said “the community surrounding Orchid Road in Lekki Lagos is one of the most significant neighborhoods in Lagos State. This community deserves more than the epileptic power supply that it has been getting from EKEDC. We were promised a minimum 22-hour daily power supply but we barely get 22 hours in a whole week. This is not acceptable, and we demand that EKEDC lives up to its promise as a responsible DISCo.
“There are families here and children inhaling fumes from generators. It has to stop. This is a significant community in Lagos with over 5,000 households and businesses. We are prepared to pay for power. All we want is constant power supply.”
Engr. Oloso Saheed, Chairman, Cooplag Gardens Estate Resident Association, one of the estates in the Orchid Road axis expressed regret over EKEDC actions noting that “We are, however, being treated with levity and disdain by EKEDC. We have been cooperatiing with EKEDC, yet they don’t appreciate our cooperation. EKEDC has cost us a lot of money in my estate, for example, from the occasional voltage fluctuation to sudden high voltage after a long power outage. We didn’t get up to 10 hours per day on average in November with a power outage for weeks in many instances.
I am not happy with EKEDC Performance, and the entire Cooplag Estate is displeased with the power situation, so much so that people are leaving our neighbourhood to go to places with better power stability
Adeyinka Aderemi Adetukasi, Chairman, DPKay District Estate, said: “On behalf of the residents of DPKay District Estate, I am compelled to express, in the strongest possible terms, our collective indignation and profound dissatisfaction with the egregious and unacceptable state of power supply rendered by Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC). For far too long, our community has been subjected to an unrelenting cycle of prolonged outages, inconsistent electricity supply, and a blatant disregard for the numerous grievances we have consistently raised. This dereliction of duty is an affront to the basic standards of service delivery and has left our residents exasperated and frustrated.
“It is incomprehensible that in this day and age, a utility provider entrusted with such a critical responsibility can fail so spectacularly in fulfilling its obligations. The residents of DPKay Estate are entitled to an uninterrupted and reliable power supply, yet EKEDC’s performance has been nothing short of abysmal. Let it be unequivocally stated that this community will no longer tolerate such an egregious level of incompetence. We demand immediate and substantial action to rectify this deplorable situation and call upon EKEDC to deliver the standard of service commensurate with the fees it continues to collect without justification.
Spokesperson for EKEDC, Mr Babatunde Lasaki
Reacting to the development, Spokesperson for EKEDC, Mr Babatunde Lasaki, called for patience and assured that within the first quarter of 2025, epileptic power supply would end.
Lasaki, in a chat with Vanguard, said: “It is an ongoing project. There are three sub stations being worked on. Just the day before yesterday (Thursday), one was commissioned.
According to TCN, the other two will be commissioned by the first quarter of next year. By the time those substations are commissioned, the issue of epileptic power supply would be a thing of the past.
“What necessitated the epileptic power supply is that we do not have enough power in that axis which has resulted in strategic load shedding. Thankfully, one of the three power transformers has been commissioned. By Monday, it will start taking load. By January or February when the other two have been installed and commissioned, power supply will improve significantly.”
