Lagos, Ogun residents groan as blackout worsens heat

Some residents of Lagos and Ogun states have lamented prolonged power outages in their communities, saying the situation has worsened the intense heat and made sleeping at night unbearable.

The development came as hundreds of residents of Somolu, Lagos State, took to the streets on Thursday to protest the prolonged blackout, calling for the immediate restoration of electricity.

The protesters were seen marching through the streets in a viral video circulating online, chanting, “They want to kill us with heat; we will not allow heat to kill us.”

Some of them also displayed placards bearing inscriptions such as, “Give us light” and “Our businesses are dying.”

The protest came days after residents of Lagos Island took to the streets on Tuesday over prolonged power outages, also complaining about rising temperatures and the difficulty of coping without electricity.

Speaking on the impact of the poor power supply on Thursday, a factory worker in Ikeja who resides in Berger, Tolani Adewunmi, said the situation had begun to affect her work and daily activities.

She said, “Before, we used to have about 20 hours of uninterrupted power supply. But immediately there was an announcement that there was going to be some heat, the power supply became something else.

“I no longer sleep like before, and I used to leave the house as early as 7am. These days, my mattress would be soaked with my sweat, and I would just roll over from one side of the bed to the other.

“It is as if the government deliberately wants people to die in this heat. How do you explain that those of us under Band A, who used to enjoy more than 20 hours of uninterrupted power supply, would suddenly not get up to three hours of electricity?”

A Somolu resident, who identified himself as Ahmed, said businesses in the area had also been disrupted by the poor electricity supply.

He warned that children and other vulnerable residents could suffer health consequences if the situation was not urgently addressed.

He said, “In my area, we used to enjoy power supply for at least 10 hours a day. At night, it used to be steady. Now, we cannot enjoy 40 minutes of power supply without interruption.

“Something is wrong somewhere. It is now that the heat has become unbearable that the power supply has deteriorated. It is dangerous.”

Also speaking, a resident of Ewupe, Sango-Ota, Ogun State, Abdulsalam Balikis, described the electricity supply in her area as poor, rating it four out of 10.

She said, “The electricity supply in my area is very bad. On a scale of 10, I would rate it four.

“We do not have a fixed number of hours of electricity supply. Since last night, we have not had power, and it has not been restored. Even when electricity is eventually restored, we do not get more than four hours of supply.

“The government is not taking any steps to address the situation. Even when it takes steps, they do not seem to work.

“The government should find a solution quickly because of the intense heat these days. It is difficult to charge our phones and get water.”

Another resident of Ifako-Ijaiye, who identified herself only as Opeyemi, said her area had experienced a prolonged power outage.

“For this week, we have not had electricity. The last time we had power was on Saturday, and it lasted for about an hour.

“Electricity supply has not been as regular as it used to be. Before, we enjoyed about 16 hours of power supply daily, but now we get only about an hour a day.

“I no longer store food in the freezer. I only cook the quantity of food I can finish in a day. On days when I don’t go to work, I shower as many times as possible,” she said.

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An elderly resident of Isolo, who identified herself as Mrs Siyanbade, said her area had been without electricity for more than two weeks, forcing her to patronise charging centres to keep her devices powered.

“We have not had electricity for over two weeks. I have had to patronise charging centres to ensure my devices are powered, despite the fear of damage to our devices or, in the worst cases, having them go missing.

“The lack of power supply has affected our lives, as we have to cope with intense heat and a lack of water. On some occasions, we buy petrol and use generators to pump water, but the high cost of fuel leaves us with little or no money.

“Preparing the children for school has also become another chore, as my only options are candlelight or the flashlight on my device.

“I really hope the government intervenes in the electricity situation, as it has deeply affected our way of life,” she said.

A corps member in Ikorodu, Miss Olamiposi Yetunde, said the disruption in electricity supply in her area had lasted for more than two months, affecting her ability to preserve food and carry out daily activities.

“For over two months, power supply has been interrupted in my area. I have been unable to store cooked food, charge my devices or even iron my work outfits.

“The situation has been so bad that I have to borrow a neighbour’s generator and buy petrol to power it just to get water. Our government should please help us. Living without electricity in a developed state like Lagos is not comfortable at all,” she said.

An accountant who resides in Journalist Estate Phase 1, Arepo, Anawo Victor, also lamented the poor electricity supply, rating the service 15 out of 100.

He said, “The electricity supply has been really poor. If I am to rate the service, I would give it 15 out of 100. In the past, we enjoyed about 20 to 22 hours of electricity daily, but now we can go for two days without power. Even when electricity is restored, the supply is unstable, as outages can last for hours or as long as 72 hours.

“I have spent more money on petrol during this period than at any other time of the year. I have to spend N10,000 on petrol every day just to keep my fridge running and prevent food from spoiling because of the poor electricity supply.

“There are no direct or straightforward answers to our questions about the lack of electricity. Instead, we are given excuses that all hands are on deck, which appear to be a way of disguising their inability to supply power. This has been going on for more than three months,” he said.

A resident of Alagbado, Lagos State, Anuoluwapo Olurunshuye, said electricity supply in her area had deteriorated after a fault developed, leaving residents with only about 30 minutes of power at night.

She said, “Our electricity supply used to be good. We enjoyed up to 22 hours of uninterrupted power supply daily, but since a fault developed, the supply has become irregular.

“For over two weeks now, electricity has only been available at night for about 30 minutes. The situation is also the same around the AIT area.

“I have been struggling with the heat, but I had no choice but to buy a solar system to help reduce the heat at home and charge my electronic devices because the electricity company has yet to repair the fault.

“I asked an electricity official about the situation, and he told me that power generation was no longer sufficient to meet everyone’s needs.”

Meanwhile, Ikeja Electric has apologised to customers on some Band A feeders in its franchise area after failing to meet the minimum daily electricity supply requirement of 20 hours on November 3 and 4, 2026.

The electricity distribution company disclosed this in a notice posted on its official X account, @IkejaElectric, on Thursday.

In the notice, the company expressed regret over its inability to deliver the expected minimum service level to customers on the affected feeders during the two-day period.

“Dear esteemed customer, we apologise for falling short of the expected minimum service level of 20 hours on the Band A feeders below for November 3rd and 4th, 2026,” the company stated.