By Ibrahim Kegbegbe
Epe, Lagos State — January 14, 2026
Residents and indigenous people of Epe and its surrounding communities have appealed to former Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, to intervene in the prolonged electricity outage that has plunged the area into darkness for almost four months.
The residents told The Merit Newspaper that power supply in Epe, which had been inconsistent for several years, completely collapsed in late 2025 and has remained unavailable as of the time of filing this report on Wednesday.
According to them, the prolonged blackout has disrupted economic activities, education, healthcare delivery and general security across the ancient town and neighbouring communities.
“We have been in total darkness for close to four months,” said Mr. Tunde Olaoye, a trader at the Epe market. “Before now, light was epileptic, but at least we had something. Now, there is nothing at all. Businesses are suffering badly.”
Another resident, Mrs. Zainab Shuaib, lamented the effect of the outage on families and students.
“Children cannot read at night, and many parents cannot afford to buy fuel every day,” she said. “The cost of living has increased because everyone now depends on generators.”
Residents also expressed concerns over rising insecurity, noting that the absence of street lighting has made many areas unsafe after dusk.
Community leaders attributed the power failure to alleged vandalisation of electricity infrastructure, including cables and transformers, as well as what they described as prolonged neglect of the Epe power network.
Amid the growing frustration, residents are calling on Akinwunmi Ambode, who served as governor of Lagos State from 2015 to 2019, to use his influence and experience to help draw urgent attention to the crisis.
“Governor Ambode understands Lagos very well, including Epe,” said Mr. Bayo Ayinde, a youth leader in the community. “We are not saying he caused the problem, but we believe his intervention can help push the right authorities to act.”
Residents say the appeal is not political but borne out of desperation.
“This is about survival,” said Ms. Funmi John, a petty trader. “We just want light restored so people can work, children can study and the town can be safe again.”
Ambode, a former civil servant and accountant, is widely remembered for infrastructure development during his tenure, including road construction, urban renewal projects and efforts to improve governance in previously underserved parts of Lagos State.
In recent months, the former governor has also featured prominently in political discussions ahead of the 2027 governorship election, with some stakeholders within the All Progressives Congress (APC) urging him to consider returning to office. Although Ambode has not formally declared any ambition, he remains a key political figure within the ruling party.
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As of press time, there has been no official response from electricity distribution authorities on when power will be restored to Epe.
