The Abia State House of Assembly has expressed concern over the prolonged power outage affecting Aba and other local government areas served by Aba Power Limited.
The blackout, which entered its sixth day, has disrupted manufacturing activities, businesses, and households across Aba and neighbouring communities.
Aba Power Limited attributed the outage to challenges in gas supply needed for electricity generation.
In response to the situation, the Chairman of the House Committee on Power and Public Utilities, Aaron Uzodike, alongside committee member Stephen Ucheonye, visited the headquarters of Aba Power Limited in Aba to obtain an explanation for the continued blackout.
The lawmakers said they were deeply concerned about the impact of the outage on residents, businesses, manufacturers, and artisans.
They explained that the visit was part of the Assembly’s oversight responsibility to obtain firsthand information on the factors responsible for the electricity disruption affecting parts of the state.
Responding to the lawmakers, Chairman of Aba Power Limited, Professor Barth Nnaji, and members of the company’s management blamed the crisis on the inability of a gas supply company to deliver gas after damage to the switchgear and starter motor used in its operations.
Nnaji appealed to residents and electricity consumers in Aba for patience and understanding while efforts continue to resolve the problem.
He assured that electricity supply would be restored once gas supply resumes.
Reacting to the explanation, Chairman of the House Committee on Power and Public Utilities, Aaron Uzodike, said the Assembly would continue to monitor the situation to ensure that power is restored without further delay.
He stressed that industries cannot operate efficiently, businesses cannot grow, and artisans cannot thrive in an environment plagued by persistent electricity supply challenges.
