Assault on Ajaero: Owerri residents plunged into darkness on election eve

There is currently power outage in Owerri, Imo State capital, where residents are expected to vote in Saturday’s governorship election.

The outage is as a result of the directive of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that electricity should be cut off from the town as a result of the assault on Joe Ajaero, NLC President.

NLC and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) had on Tuesday ordered its members and affiliates nationwide to proceed on indefinite strike from November 14, while those in Imo State to commence same action immediately following the expiration of a five-day ultimatum given to the Federal Government over the assault and brutalisation of the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, in Owerri on November 1, 2023.

Some of the residents of Owerri who spoke with Daily Trust lamented that they were suffering for an offence they did not commit.

A bar operator, Ngozi Anyawu, said they were finding it difficult to cope with the situation because they could not cool their drinks.

A hotel operator, Chief Uchendu Okoro, said the situation is harsh and it was difficult to run a hotel without power.

“When two elephants fight, the grass suffer. Those who caused the problem have nothing to loose. It is only the poor that are suffering the situation,” he said.

Uche Peter complained about the condition, saying they were finding it hard to cope with life in Owerri.

According to him, Owerri used to be lively place but with the light off things are hard.