Gombe Community Faces Six-Month Blackout and Billing Issues

Residents of Bagadaza in Akko Local Government Area, Gombe State, have voiced their frustration over a six-month blackout and continued electricity billing. Mr.

Gaiu Lamela, speaking on behalf of the community, described the situation as a recurring financial drain, with a transformer developing faults that required contributions of N800,000 for repairs. Unfortunately, the transformer broke down again just two months later, leading to a request for N1.2 million, which was later reduced to N800,000.

A contractor requested N500,000, but residents are struggling to raise the amount due to current economic hardships. Edward Aliyu lamented the impact of the blackout on daily life, noting increased living costs and health issues.

Despite the prolonged outage, residents continue to receive bills, which they find surprising. The community has sought assistance from politicians and approached the electricity distribution company, JEDC, but have not received a satisfactory response.

Saratu Aliyu, a spokesperson for JEDC, stated that efforts are being made to ascertain the situation.