24 Hours in Darkness: Iju Ishaga Residents, Businesses Count Losses as Ikeja Electric Fails to Restore Power

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24 Hours in Darkness: Iju Ishaga Residents, Businesses Count Losses as Ikeja Electric Fails to Restore Power

Residents of Iju Ishaga, Ake-Ayo and adjoining communities in Lagos have been thrown into frustration as a prolonged blackout entered its second day, forcing households and businesses to battle with the consequences of more than 24 hours without electricity.

The power outage began at about 5pm on Sunday, September 27, 2026, and had persisted as of Monday evening, leaving residents scrambling for alternative sources of electricity.

For many residents, the blackout has gone beyond the inconvenience of darkness, with business owners counting losses and households spending additional money on fuel to power generators.

Small businesses that depend heavily on electricity have been particularly affected.

Operators of laundries, barbing salons, hairdressing shops, restaurants, food businesses, refrigeration outlets and other electricity-dependent enterprises have either had to suspend operations or resort to generators at additional cost.

Residents said the prolonged outage was putting further pressure on household finances, with many already struggling with the rising cost of fuel and other essential commodities.

One resident said electricity supply disappeared around 5pm on Sunday and had still not returned as of Monday evening.

The resident said many people initially expected the fault to be resolved within a few hours but became increasingly frustrated as the outage stretched into the following day.

The situation has also affected households dependent on electricity-powered water pumps, while residents with refrigerators and freezers have expressed concern about food and other perishable items.

Residents demand explanation

Frustrated consumers contacted personnel of Ikeja Electric Distribution Company to demand information about the cause of the outage and when supply would be restored.

A conversation with an Ikeja Electric staff member on Monday indicated that the company was aware of the problem and that efforts were being made to resolve it.

However, residents were still waiting for full restoration as of Monday evening.

The specific cause of the latest outage affecting Ake-Ayo, Iju Ishaga and surrounding communities had not been independently established as of the time of filing this report.

Previous prolonged outages in parts of Ikeja Electric’s network have been linked to faults involving distribution infrastructure as well as incidents on the transmission network.

Businesses bear the brunt

The prolonged blackout has created a fresh financial burden for small business operators in the affected communities.

For laundry operators, every hour without electricity can mean delayed jobs and customers waiting longer for their clothes.

Barbers and hairdressers have also been forced to depend on generators, while restaurants, food vendors and businesses dealing in frozen products face the additional challenge of preserving their stock.

Some business owners said the cost of purchasing fuel to run generators could further reduce their already narrow profit margins.

For households, the situation has also meant additional expenditure on fuel and other alternatives to electricity.

Anger mounts

As the outage continued into Monday evening, residents became increasingly frustrated over the absence of electricity and uncertainty surrounding the restoration time.

They appealed to Ikeja Electric to provide regular and transparent updates whenever prolonged faults occur, particularly when large communities are affected.

Residents also called for improved maintenance of electricity infrastructure to reduce the frequency and duration of outages.

The latest incident has once again highlighted the difficulties faced by residents and small businesses that depend on public electricity supply but are often forced to maintain generators as backup.

For the affected residents of Iju Ishaga, Ake-Ayo and neighbouring areas, the immediate demand is simple: restore the power and end the darkness.

But with the outage already stretching beyond 24 hours, many households and businesses are left counting the financial cost of another prolonged blackout.