Residents of Maya Olorijo Estate in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State staged a peaceful protest on Monday over a prolonged 18-month electricity outage affecting their community.
The demonstrators said the extended blackout had severely disrupted businesses, worsened living conditions, and negatively impacted livelihoods.
The protesters, mainly landlords and youths, marched to the Ikeja Electric Business District office in the Alogba area, displaying placards and chanting solidarity songs. Some of the placards read, “18 months in darkness, killing Olorijo” and “No light for creditworthy customers, bring back our transformer.”
Speaking during the protest, the Chairman of the Olorijo Community Development Association, Victor Ologhobo, explained that the outage began after a faulty transformer serving the area was removed for repairs on January 13, 2025.
He said the community had remained without electricity since then, describing the situation as unsustainable for both daily living and business operations.
Ologhobo appealed to the electricity company to either replace the transformer or return the repaired one, noting that residents have been forced to rely on fuel-powered generators, leading to increased costs and security concerns.
“We are not asking for too much. Give us a new transformer or repair and return the one taken from our community,” he said, adding that the prolonged darkness has exposed residents to security risks and financial strain.
In response, the Business Manager of Ikeja Electric in Ikorodu, Emmanuel Iberuche, apologised for the delay and attributed it to bureaucratic processes involved in repairing or replacing transformers. He assured residents that their concerns would be forwarded to the company’s headquarters for further action.
Also speaking, the Head of Technical Unit at Ikeja Electric, Samuel Odukoya, said arrangements would be made to install a transformer at no cost to the community once the necessary approval is secured.