EKEDC Blames Blackout In Yaba And Environs On Railway Construction Work

Some customers of Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) have been plunged into darkness as its 33KVA feeder located around the on-going railway construction site near the popular Tejuosho market, Yaba has been damaged owing to the activities of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

A statement signed by EKEDC’s Corporate Communications General Manager, Godwin Idemudia, revealed that excavation of the railway site exposed underground cables that were instrumental to the supply of electricity to places in Yaba and environs, further stating that the cables were later vandalised and stolen by unscrupulous elements.

According to Idemudia, the issue was detected by the Operations and Maintenance team of EKEDC on routine surveillance of the feeder.

Further investigation discovered that suspected cable thieves had carted away 180 meters of the cable which has caused outage to customers in the following areas within Yaba and Environs; Tejuosho Market, Montgomery, Ojuelegba, Abeokuta Express, Borno Way, Freeman, Capital Works, Herbert Macaulay, Sabo Express, Muritala Mohammed, Jacob Mews amongst others.

He said “We are yet to ascertain if this was a deliberate act by the company (CCECC) for whatever reason or its construction workers took advantage of the situation for personal gains. However, we can confirm that this is not the first case of a similar incident involving the company and it is our duty to inform customers of the source of their inconvenience”.

The EKEDC Spokesperson assured customers that investigations are being conducted to apprehend the culprits and prevent such incidents from recurring.

He also pleaded with customers to exercise patience while efforts to resolve the issue and restore supply as soon as possible are underway.