Blackout in Rivers As Youths Shut Down Afam Power Station

 Blackout in Rivers As Youths Shut Down Afam Power Station

By Emmanuel Awosika

Residents of Rivers State have been thrown into darkness after irate youths shut down the Afam Power Station, which supplies most parts of State.

According to reports, the youths had stormed the power station, owned by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, and halted operations at the site, causing a blackout in the capital, Port Harcourt, and other parts of the state.

Acting Manager, Corporate Communications, for the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, Mrs Chioma Aninwe, confirmed the incidents while speaking to journalists today.

“The youths, known as Oyibo Youths, shutdown Afam Transmission lines around 21:04 p.m. on Friday, thereby, throwing the entire Port Harcourt and Rivers state into darkness.

“The youths took laws into their hands and marched in their numbers to the transmission station, forcing the operators to shut down supply without observing safety measures.

“This ugly incident has become the order of the day due to their acclaimed inadequate power supply to their communities,” she stated.

Aninwe said the electricity outages were not the disco’s fault, saying the need to accommodate customers was responsible.

She indicated the disco had met with residents of the Oyibo communities to explain how the load allocation formula from the National Grid might affect power supply.

“PHED also informed them of the need for the company to apply systematic load shedding in order to accommodate all its customers.

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“However, all our attempts have proved futile as the youths insisted on 24-hour supply, negating our efforts at ensuring equitable distribution of supply to customers.”

The spokeswoman further pleaded with the law enforcement agencies and the Rivers State Government to put an end to the frequent shutdown of the Afam Power Station.

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