As the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) continues to assure Calabar residents of a successful restoration of power supply before the end of April, the blackout has gradually entered its eighth week without any sign of relief.
It will be recalled that vandals had repeatedly brought down one of the towers belonging to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which conveyed power from the Ikot Ekpene generating Plant to the plant in Adiabo in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, on March 8.
On Monday afternoon, the Regional Manager of PHED, Igwe Collins, told the Nigerian Tribune, that the problem was being resolved, “very soon, there will be light there. We have mobilised our technical team to support TCN who are the owners of the tower that was vandalised. This will reduce the time to re-erect the tower by 60 per cent. We are expecting power by the end of April.”
More worrisome is the plight of residents who have faced tough economic and social conditions, amidst fears of insecurity and business setbacks. Some of the residents who spoke to the Nigerian Tribune said:
“This big refrigerator you see there is for my drinks and those two chillers too, but my dear, since last month, na fuel we dey use and profit is not as usual because the price of fuel is very high,” Mr Okeke complained.
Also, one Mr. Etim, who operates a betting shop stressed that “I close early these days because these boys can enter here now to rob my customers, because when there is no light, we often experience armed robberies.”
The people are of the opinion that the PHED was negligent for not ensuring adequate security at the power plant to repel the activities of vandals.
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