Frustrated residents of Waterfront Estate, Sekumade Estate, and the NBC Community in the Ebute area of Ikorodu Local Government Area today held a peaceful demonstration at the Ikorodu Business District office of Ikeja Electric Distribution Company (IKEDC). The protest highlighted an ongoing total blackout that has lasted eight months, plunging their communities into darkness since August 2025.
The demonstrators barricaded the entrance to the IKEDC operational office, temporarily halting movement in and out of the premises, to draw attention to what they describe as prolonged neglect and insincerity on the part of the electricity distributor.
Carrying placards with messages such as “IKEDC! You are supposed to be an agent of light, not an agent of darkness” and “Eight months in darkness. Enough is enough.
Restore our light,” the residents expressed deep anguish over the severe hardship caused by the extended outage. Economic activities have ground to a halt, small businesses have suffered major losses, household routines have been disrupted, and general quality of life has deteriorated significantly.
According to community representatives, the blackout began in August 2025 when the sole transformer serving the three estates developed a fault.
Despite repeated engagements, IKEDC has failed to repair or replace the equipment. Residents noted that they had held at least two meetings with IKEDC officials to demand swift action, but no meaningful progress has been made.
“We have been patient for too long,” said one of the protest leaders. “We pay our bills when supply is available, yet we are left in total darkness for eight full months. This is unacceptable. IKEDC’s excuses and delays show a lack of sincerity toward its customers in this area.”
The protesters called on IKEDC to immediately restore power by fixing or replacing the faulty transformer, improve response times to infrastructure faults, and demonstrate genuine commitment to reliable electricity supply in Ikorodu communities.
When contacted, IKEDC representatives acknowledged the challenges, stating that the repair or replacement of faulty transformers follows established procedures, which can take time due to the volume of similar issues.
The company noted that approximately 300 faulty transformers in the Ikorodu regional are currently awaiting attention and repairs.
The residents vowed to sustain their advocacy until power is fully restored and urged relevant regulatory authorities, including the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to intervene and hold IKEDC accountable for service delivery failures.