Residents protest poor power supply, dilapidated infrastructure in Lafia

2026-03-02 - 17:08

By Edwin Philip, Lafia NASARAWA STATE — Residents of Lafia, the state capital, Monday took to the streets under the banner of Nasarawa Southern Residents to protest the persistent poor power supply and decaying infrastructure in the city. The convener of the group, Comrade Ibrahim Abdullahi Attama, who is also the National Program Officer of the National Youth Council, accused the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) of neglecting its duties and failing to provide consistent electricity or adequate explanations for the disruptions. Addressing the grievances to Governor Abdullahi Sule, Comrade Atamma described the situation as critical, saying it hampers economic activities, disrupts daily life, and causes widespread frustration among residents and businesses. He highlighted key issues including: Lack of routine maintenance and dilapidated infrastructure, with poles, cables, and distribution lines visibly worn and prone to breakdowns. Overloaded, undersized, and aging transformers causing frequent outages, voltage fluctuations, and damage to home and business equipment. Inadequate power allocation to meet the demand in Lafia, leaving many areas in prolonged darkness. Poor management and ineffective customer service, with limited communication on outages or restoration timelines. Comrade Atamma urged the government to: Conduct an immediate audit of power infrastructure in Lafia. Engage federal power authorities and AEDC to ensure sufficient and consistent electricity supply. Mandate improved maintenance schedules and timely replacement of faulty equipment. Facilitate transparent communication between power management and customers. He emphasized that the ongoing power crisis is stifling small and medium-sized enterprises, disrupting education and healthcare services, and lowering residents’ quality of life. Responding to the protest, Permanent Secretary Umaru Idris, who received the group on behalf of Governor Sule, thanked them for their peaceful demonstration and promised to relay their demands to the Governor, assuring that feedback would be communicated.