Residents of Mpape, a suburb in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have been groaning over the lingering water scarcity and blackout in the community for over a month.
Mpape community residents rely solely on boreholes for water supply and Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) power supply to run their day-to-day businesses.
The water scarcity, according to Mpape residents, was due to dilapidated transformers feeding the Abuja community.
The residents, speaking to our correspondents in separate interviews on Friday in Abuja, said that the situation was disheartening, especially for those who don’t have dug-up wells in their compound.
The residents, who said that the water scarcity had persisted for over one month, expressed disappointment that there was no stored water to be able to survive the scarcity.
“Lack of sufficient water and electricity has posed a great challenge to me because I now buy water and fuel,” said Chinwe Agwu, a hair vendor in Mpape village.
She added, “I have never bought water because I have a customer who allows me to fetch water from her house.
”But with this water scarcity, I now buy water from water vendors, and this is affecting my business.
”This is because customers won’t agree to pay extra money for my services, and this makes it difficult for me to break even.”
Agwu pleaded with the government to look into the replacement of the transformers because they have been suffering from it for over a month and nothing has been done yet.
Mrs. Iyabo Adebisi, a resident, expressed her displeasure over the scarcity and the high cost of water.
Adebisi added that though there was a dug-up well in the compound, the water from it was not clean enough for cooking.
She said, “I make use of the well water for washing clothes, while I use sachet water for cooking and drinking.
”This has increased my spending tremendously in the last three months.”
Adebisi said she now buys water from water vendors for washing since the well has dried up.
She added that the cost of water from water vendors has also increased tremendously.
”I used to buy a truck of 10 cans of water for N1,000, but due to an increase in demand, the price has been raised to N3,000,” she said.
Dogo Ali, a laundry merchant at Mpape, however, said that a lot of his customers are complaining of the increase in the cost of laundry services, and this is also affecting his business.
“We are hardly patronized now because customers are complaining of the increase in prices.
”We all know how things are now in Nigeria, and coupled with the water scarcity, we have no choice but to increase our prices,” Ali said.
