ABOFOUR RESIDENTS STAGE PEACEFUL MARCH TO NEDCo OVER PROLONGED BLACKOUT

By: Dominic Duut, Head of NobleNews | Abofour, Offinso South

Residents of Abofour and its surrounding communities in the Offinso South Municipality of the Ashanti Region today embarked on a peaceful march to the office of the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCo) to demand the immediate restoration of electricity.

The demonstrators, made up of youth, women, opinion leaders, and traders, marched through the principal streets of the town before converging at the local NEDCo office with placards demanding answers over the prolonged blackout.

According to information gathered by Dominic Duut, Head of NobleNews, the entire Abofour enclave has been plunged into darkness for almost a month, a situation that has crippled businesses, affected healthcare delivery, education and domestic activities.

Residents disclosed that NEDCo had promised to restore power within three days after the initial outage, but that promise is yet to be fulfilled after nearly a month.

“For almost a month we have been sleeping in darkness. Our cold stores have collapsed, students cannot study at night, and health facilities are struggling.

NEDCo promised us three days, but it is now almost a month and nothing has been done,” one aggrieved resident told NobleNews.

The residents expressed deep frustration, noting that despite faithfully paying their electricity bills over the years, the actions of NEDCo suggest that power may not be restored anytime soon.

As part of their protest, the people have resolved not to allow NEDCo to operate in the area until power is fully restored.

They are therefore calling on the management of NEDCo, the Ministry of Energy, and the Offinso South Municipal Assembly to urgently intervene.

“We are not making trouble. We are law-abiding citizens demanding what is due us. All we want is light. We have resolved that until power is restored, NEDCo cannot operate here,” another demonstrator stated.

The march ended peacefully with a petition presented to the local NEDCo office.

Efforts to get an official response from NEDCo management in the area were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.

Source: Information gathered by Dominic Duut, Head of NobleNews*