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Business owners in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital and its environs yesterday lamented the misfortunes befalling their businesses following the persistent power outages for over two weeks.
Cross section of business operators who spoke to Daily Trust, said the situation had become unbearable as many them depended on power supply to run their businesses.
Operator of Karim Cybercafe in Lokoja, Mr Jolly Ighodaro said he had been experiencing a lot of difficulties in running his business following the perennial power outage in the state.
“I have been spending a lot of money on fuel to run my business and this would not allow me to break even at the end of the day. The annoying thing is that the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) will still bring exorbitant bills to us at the end of the month despite the fact that we didn’t enjoy their services”, he said.
He called on the AEDC management to urgently fix the problem and ensure power was restored to the state to boost economic activities.
A shop owner at Aniebo quarters, Mrs Mariam Bolaji, said: “People are no longer coming to patronize us because they cannot get cold water or cold drinks any more. Our businesses are just dying. Yet we still continue to get exorbitant bills on monthly basis from the electricity company. Something need to be done”, she said
She expressed worries that people of the state were still being subjected to estimated billings because the management of AEDC had failed to provide meters as promised.
Other respondents who spoke on the development noted that beside the negative impact which the power outage is having on businesses, people are also having difficulty to obtain potable water.
According to them, the Water Board that supplied water to people of Lokoja had not be able to do so for past few weeks due to lack of power supply to the state.
Our correspondent reports that residents of the state capital and its environs now depend on well water, borehole and streams to meet their water needs.
Credit: Itodo Daniel Sule / Daily Trust
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