Residents in part of communities around Karu Local Government Area in Nasarawa State have finally found relief after four months of power outage, which crippled businesses and led to various health hazards.
The blackout occurred in May 2025 when a rainstorm destroyed over a hundred electric poles along the Abuja-Keffi expressway, affecting communities such as Uke, Gora, and Angwan Tofa.
On Wednesday afternoon, residents erupted in joy as the lights flickered back on. Children, women, and men alike rejoiced, thanking God for the restoration.
Mr Eze Malachy, a businessman who owns a beer parlour in one of the communities, expressed mixed feelings. While he was happy to have power restored, he questioned the stability of the supply.
“I honestly don’t want to commend them yet because it’s not just about restoring the light, but how stable will it be?” he said.
He lamented that before the poles were destroyed, the community hardly enjoyed steady power supply for six hours, and he spent over ₦4,000 daily on generator fuel and ice blocks.
On the other hand, James Alexander, a computer centre operator in Karshi, hailed the efforts of the engineers who worked tirelessly to fix the poles and wires. He urged AEDC to prove that they have the capacity to sustain power supply in the area.
During the power outage, residents reported an increase in theft and other crimes, as hoodlums took advantage of the blackout to break into houses.
However, an official of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, who wished to remain anonymous, assured that with the new development, power supply would be stable except for unforeseen circumstances.
“Power can be compared to the life of a human being; you don’t know when it will go. So, except there is a challenge beyond our control, power supply will be stable,” he said.
