Federal Housing Authority (FHA), estate, Lugbe, is one of the suburbs in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) located along Yar Adua expressway, close to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. It is about 15 kilometers away from the city centre. Though it is a government estate built for civil servants, public servants, as well as traders reside in the estate, with some residents occupying their personal houses there.
Recently, the Federal Government announced an increase in electricity tariff from N8.50 to N10.00 per kilowatt. Nigerians are yet to accept this increment, especially, when the power situation in the country has not improved.
LEADERSHIP SUNDAY authoritatively gathered that apart from the incessant power failure, the FHA Phase 2 estate commissioned last year was yet to have its power supply.Consequently, the residents are left at the mercy of generating sets. To agravate the situation, the estate has been in total darkness for almost one month even as the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Lugbe unit, has consistently brought electricity bills to the residents without rendering the services.
Cross section of residents that spoke with LEADERSHIP SUNDAY blamed the FCT administration for sidelining the estate in their developmental plans and projects. They urged the FG to probe PHCN due to its poor performance.
A civil servant, Mrs Ifunanya Okafor, regretted the discontinuation in government developmental projects, saying that the President was making necessary efforts to put an end to constant power failure in the FCT in particular and in Nigeria at large. She lamented that the government maps out huge sums of money for development projects every year while few individuals in charge of the projects siphon the money with impunity. “Power failure has become a recurring problem in Nigeria, but the FHA is the worst hit. Imagine people living in perpetual darkness but for the help of generating sets, yet bills are brought by the PHCN every month.
If you fail to pay, your light will be disconnected. People keep saying that there is no light in Nigeria, but when my family visited Kogi State, there was constant power supply for the four days that we spent. It is quite unfortunate that an area like the FHA cannot boast of steady power supply. I am suggesting that the FG should probe the power sector and in that way, Nigerians will get the type of services they deserve.”
Another resident, Mr Chibuike Chukwu, argued that the greatest challenge in the power sector was the diversion of funds allocated for power into private pockets by certain group of people identified as cabals.
He enjoined the President not to relent in providing the country with steady power supply as he promised during his electioneering campaign. “How can Nigeria be habitable when the bad eggs in the society refused to change for the better? President Jonathan is planning on how to transform the country yet this group of people are busy diverting public funds into their private pockets. Let them give account of how they spent the monies allotted to the sector starting from the former
President Obasanjo down to everyone that contributed to the failure of power sector in Nigeria. PHCN has not been fair to its customers. I spend N2000 every week on fuel and still pay the PHCN bills. We want the government to intervene and rescue us from this ugly situation,” he stated.
A dealer in frozen food, Jumoke Ola, frowns at the government’s inability to put into consideration the welfare of the residents, adding that Nigerians are not expected to wallow in abject poverty since the country is richly blessed with every human and natural resources that other foreign countries lack. “We hardly see light in this estate and yet, we pay the bills promptly. It is annoying that a FG estate cannot boast of power supply at least, three times in a week. If not for generator, many people cannot survive in this country. We pay big money and get little services. It will be wise for our President to look into the activities in the power sector and if possible, probe them.”
Hospitals are not left out in this worrisome situation. A doctor in one of the private hospitals in the FHA who preferred anonymity argued that due to the frequent use of generating sets, hospital bills and other services rendered to patients are on the high side. “It is the responsibility of any professional doctor to save lives first before demanding for money. These days, we demand for money before saving lives. This is because when patients are discharged from hospitals, they find it difficult to foot the bills, thereby leaving the hospital in huge debts. The government should also play her roles in ensuring that every Nigerian lives below poverty level.”
Apart from the power challenge experienced by these residents, another major problem is poor sanitation.
A resident of the FHA, Mr. Femi, regretted that his house is located opposite a refuse dump site in the estate. He said that the situation remains worrisome, especially, during the rainy season. According to him, government at all levels should not shy away from their responsibilities. Federal, state and local governments should contribute their quota towards the development of any nation.”
Another resident, Madam Esther Peters, who runs a provision shop also lamented that the absence of waste disposal site was the major cause of indiscriminate dumping of refuse by the roadside. She frowned that during the rainy season, the entire locality stinks so much that people have to relocate for fear of an outbreak of epidermic.
When our correspondent visited PHCN offic in Lugbe, she was stopped at the gate by the security man who demanded to know her reasons for visiting. While interacting with the security man, the reporter learnt that the manager in charge of light was yet to resume for duties; that was around 10am. The reporter was further referred to another staff. The staff who couldn’t respond to the questions left the reporter in his office. When he returned after about 3 minutes, he advised the reporter to go to Apo blackout Business unit for comment; saying that they had no Public Relations Officer there.
At the Federal Housing Authority Estate office in Lugbe, the woman in charge of the estate who was referred to as Hajiya Aisha, was also not on seat at 11.10am. All attempts to speak with FHA project manager also proved abortive as the staff said that the manager was working somewhere at the moment.
Power should be the priority of President Jonathan’s agenda. Foreign and Nigerian investors cannot depend on generating sets alone.