FESTAC residents give EKEDC 48-hour ultimatum after eight months without electricity

• FESTAC residents marched to EKEDC's headquarters over prolonged power outages.

• The group gave the electricity distributor 48 hours to restore supply or face mass action.

• Residents say months of blackout and estimated billing have crippled businesses and daily life.

Residents of FESTAC Town in Lagos marched to the headquarters of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company in Marina on Tuesday, issuing a 48-hour ultimatum for the restoration of power supply to the estate or face mass action.

The protest, organised under the group Take Back FESTAC, followed what residents described as over eight months of near-total blackout, crippling estimated billing, and a collapse of economic activity across the estate.

Convener of Take Back FESTAC and General Secretary of Take Back Nigeria, Comrade Valentine Uduebor, said the demonstration was a last resort after repeated engagements with EKEDC had produced no results despite earlier assurances that power supply would improve following the completion of a transmission project.

"They told us to give them five months. We agreed because we believed them. Those five months have come and gone, yet our people remain in darkness. That is why we are here today," he said.

Uduebor said the electricity situation had reached a point of total paralysis, noting that he had not purchased electricity tokens since buying ₦40,000 worth over a year ago because there had been virtually no power to consume.

"Forty-eight hours from today, if EKEDC does not restore electricity to FESTAC, members, stakeholders and residents will not be held responsible for whatever communal inconvenience may follow," he warned.

Vice President of the group, Chief James Ibeka, said the blackout had pushed the cost of living to unsustainable levels, with families spending as much as ₦10,000 daily on generator fuel at ₦1,300 per litre.

"Sometimes we go for three good months without having up to two hours of electricity cumulatively. Healthcare, food preservation, businesses and every aspect of life have been affected. We even lost a young man," he said.

Small businesses including barber shops, salons and artisan workshops have shut down entirely, while hospitals have struggled to maintain basic care for patients dependent on stable power supply.

A medical practitioner at the protest, Dr. Dumebi Owa, described the situation as a direct threat to lives.

"In hospitals, patients on life support depend on electricity. Imagine carrying out surgery and the power suddenly goes off. It is dangerous and unacceptable," she said.

She also accused EKEDC of prioritising estimated billing over actual power supply, arguing that the system generated revenue for the company regardless of whether electricity was delivered.

Several residents at the protest said they were being charged monthly despite receiving little or no power. According to reports, one protester, Michael, said he pays approximately ₦15,000 every month whether or not electricity is supplied.

"To be truthful, they don't give us light. If they do, it is for about one hour or 30 minutes. The painful thing is that we are not on prepaid meters. Whether there is electricity or not, the bills keep increasing," he said.

About five protesters were later invited into the EKEDC office to meet with management.

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